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Questions tagged [fats]

Fats are triesters of glycerol and fatty acids. They are generally soluble in organic solvents.

1 vote
0 answers
187 views

Problem encountered during high school unsaturated fats experiment

To get straight to the point, my chemistry experiment was looking at the amount of unsaturated fats in avocado oil with respect to temperature. I did this by testing for the $\ce{C=O}$ bonds using ...
K King's user avatar
  • 11
0 votes
0 answers
20 views

Does double ended fatty acid exist? [duplicate]

A fatty acid consists of a carbon chain, with a carboxylic acid on one end, and just a hydrogen on the other. Does a substance with two carboxylic acid ends and no hydrogen end exist?
Volker Siegel's user avatar
1 vote
1 answer
181 views

Is omega 3 a specific fatty acid?

Is eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) omega 3 or that's just a acid that comes with a omega 3? Same question for docosahexaenoic acid (DHA). Just want to know are both of those two acid omega 3 despite ...
Luka Zec's user avatar
4 votes
1 answer
177 views

Are all fatty acids monocarboxylic acids?

The answer to this question might solve a multiple choice in my previous chemistry exam, which caused an argument with my teacher. We know that fatty acids form fats and oil due to their carboxylic ...
Amanuel Getachew's user avatar
1 vote
0 answers
110 views

Would burning of around 200 kg of animal fat in a tunnel cause an explosion? [closed]

As shown in the movie Ironclad, they burnt a group of fat pigs together, under a tunnel, beneath the fort base and it resulted in a massive explosion. From chemistry's perspective, and considering ...
ksalf's user avatar
  • 21
1 vote
0 answers
242 views

Why does coconut oil spoil much faster than groundnut oil?

I have observed that various foods cooked using coconut oil spoil much faster than foods cooked using groundnut oil. One good example is Asian coconut milk curry. Even with proper refrigeration, this ...
Tan Yong Boon's user avatar
1 vote
0 answers
87 views

Double bonds in polyunsaturated fatty acids

$\omega - 3$ fatty acids are very frequently discussed. $\omega - 6$ is also mentioned. However, I don't recall mention of $\omega - 1$, $\omega - 2$, or $\omega - 4$. Also, in polyunsaturated ...
badjohn's user avatar
  • 826
1 vote
1 answer
640 views

Gelatination of solution in saponification

When I performed a saponification experiment in school, I added some ethanol to the solution (glycerol ester fatty acid + sodium hydroxide) to change the equilibrium of the reaction. (Molecules of ...
손현서's user avatar
1 vote
1 answer
253 views

Uncertainty in measuring the mass of the palm oil and the base in saponification

I am a student coming from the domain of mathematics, and I am working on error analysis and uncertainty, but I have a question in the domain of chemistry. I am studying the effect of the ...
Nizar's user avatar
  • 121
2 votes
3 answers
213 views

How can I lower the flash point of stearic acid (Palm Based Fatty Acids) [closed]

I am trying to build a environmentally neutral firelighter that does not use petroleum based accelerant. I have found that the flash point is way to high to be viable in Stearic Acid (Hexadecanoic ...
Kai's user avatar
  • 21
3 votes
3 answers
400 views

fatty acid vs polyethylene [closed]

Both fatty acid and polyethylene are made (mostly) of carbons with hydrogens with a very similar configuration, yet, their properties are very different. What am I missing?
Kobi T's user avatar
  • 141
1 vote
0 answers
765 views

Saponification value of a fat/oil

The saponification value of a fat was determined by adding $\pu{9.0 g}$ of the fat to flask containing $\pu{50.0 cm3}$ of $\pu{1.00 M}$ ethanolic potassium hydroxide. The remaining solution was ...
Amy McCulloch's user avatar
-3 votes
1 answer
2k views

Transformation of fats in presence of alcohol

I have always observed when cooking that if I have some amount of fat like oil or butter in a hot frying pan and I pour some alcohol like wine on it, then there is a reaction and the quantity of ...
dyulf_rikk's user avatar
14 votes
1 answer
22k views

What makes trans fats more harmful than saturated ones?

Why are by many trans fats considered to be worse for you than fully saturated fats? I am asking specifically which of their structural features accounts for this condemnation. They won't form clumps ...
Necrophagist's user avatar
4 votes
2 answers
19k views

Why is there a difference in available energy in saturated vs. unsaturated fatty acids?

On Wikipedia it states: In cellular metabolism, unsaturated fat molecules contain somewhat less energy (i.e., fewer calories) than an equivalent amount of saturated fat. Can someone explain why ...
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