- lipids are insoluble in water
- contain C, H and O
- contain less oxygen than carbohydrates
- made up of fatty acids and glycerol
What are fatty acids?
- contain hydrophobic "tail" of a long hydrocarbon chain, and hydrophilic "head" which is a carboxyl group
- can be saturated (no double bonds, no kinks) or unsaturated (double bonds and kinks in fatty acid tail)
Classification of lipids
- simple lipids
- compound lipids
- steroids and sterols
Simple Lipids
- formed by joining fatty acid with an alcohol (eg. glycerol)
- fats (eg. triglyceride) are simple lipids
- triglyceride structure: glycerol + 3 fatty acid tails
Compound Lipids (eg. phospholipids)
- found in phospholipid bilayer of cell membrane
- phospholipid structure: phosphate head + 2 fatty acid tails
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