structure and function of triglyceride, phospholipid and cholestrol

Triglycerides: Fatty acid

• Made up of  1 molecule of glycerol with 3 hydrocarbon tails attached.(insoluble)
• The hydrocarbon tails are hydrophobic (water hating) and are also insoluble in water                                                  
• The same basic structure but the tail varies 

Phospholipds:

• Similar to triglycerides but one hydrocarbon tail is replaced by a phosphate group.
• The phosphate head is polar so it attracts water molecules.

Cholestrol:

• Has a hydrocarbon ring structure attached to a hydrocarbon tail
• Hydrocarbon ring has a hydroxyl group attached to it (OH) this makes it polar and soluble.

Triglycerides: mainly used for energy storage

• The long hydrocarbon tails have a lot of chemical energy. Its released when theyre broken down.

Phospholipids: Controls what goes in and out of the cell by making up the bilayer.

• centre of bilayer is hydrophobic water soluble substances cant easily pass through so it acts as a barrier. The phospholipids move around to make it hard for other substances to get through e.g ions.

Cholestrol

• Helps strengthen cell membrane by stabilizing the rigidity of it and interacting with the phospholipid bilayer.
• Bind to hydrophoboc tails- tails pack more closely together.
• So the membrane becomes less fluid

• Describe the structure and function of a triglyceride
• How many hydrocarbon tails does it have?
• is it soluble or insoluble?
• What is the basic structure like?

• Describe the structure and function of a phospholipid
• Is the phosphate group polar or non polar, what does this do?
• Is it soluble or non soluble?

• Describe the structure and function of a cholestrol
• where is it positioned?
• what does it do to the membrane?
• what special group is attached to the ring?
• is it polar or non polar
• soluble or non soluble