Biology 1- Lipids

Like carbohydrates, lipids also contain carbon, hydrogen and oxygen but in proportion to the carbon and hydrogen they contain less oxygen. They are non-polar compounds and so are insoluble in water. 

Triglycerides are formed by the combination of one glycerol molecule and three molecules of fatty acids. The glycerol molecule in a lipid is always the same but the fatty acid component varies. The fatty acids join to glycerol by a condensation reaction whereby three molecules of water are removed and an oxygen bond, known as an ester bond, is formed between the glycerol and fatty acid. 

Properties of Lipids

The difference in the properties of different fats and oils come from variations in the fatty acids. If the hydrocarbon chain has no carbon-carbon double bonds then the fatty acid is described as saturated because all the carbon atoms are linked to the maximum possible number of hydrogen atoms. That is, they are saturated with hydrogen atoms.

If there are double bonds present then the fatty acid is described as non-saturated. This is because the fatty acids have fewer hydrogen…