Questions tagged [fats]
Fats are triesters of glycerol and fatty acids. They are generally soluble in organic solvents.
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How to dissolve candle wax (paraffin)?
Wikipedia states that waxes can be dissolved by non-polar organic solvents.
I failed to dissolve candle wax in both acetone and ethanol, which are the only organic solvents I have at home.
I have ...
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Saturated vs unsaturated fats - Structure in relation to room temperature state?
I'm sure most of us have heard that saturated fats are solid at room temperature, and unsaturated fats are liquid at room temperature. I'm wondering how this relates to their chemical structure -- ...
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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 ...
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Does solid fat float in liquid fat?
Ice floats in its liquid state, water, because it is less dense, and I know fat also floats in water BUT will a piece of fat dropped into a pot of melted fat also float? or will it sink and what is it ...
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Why unsaturated fats are usually cis?
I've been studying organic chemistry and I think trans fats are actually more stable than cis fats. This is because the steric hindrance (for trans) would be lower and the molecule energy would be ...
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Can fats be composed of fatty acid esters other than triglycerides?
Fats are mainly referred to triglycerides. In triglycerides, a glycerol molecule form three ester linkages with fatty acids.
I think it is also possible for a butane-1,2,3,4-tetraol molecule to form ...
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why is alpha-linolenic acid "alpha"?
I'm learning about how fatty acid names are formed. In the process, I noticed a molecule called alpha-linolenic acid. There's a similar molecule called linoleic acid. Both have 18 carbons, but alpha-...
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Why is Omega-3 a polyunsaturated and not a monounsaturated fatty acid?
If Omega-3 is a fatty acid with a single double bond at the third carbon atom from the omega end, then why is it regarded as a polyunsaturate and not a monounsaturate? Are there different Omega-3s ...
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Biochemically speaking, why aren't the cell membranes of eukaryotic, multicellular organisms made of more heat-resistant stuff?
TL;DR: there are lipids out there that are more heat-resistant than those in current cell membranes, yet current cell membranes don't have them. Why?
I've cobbled together various miscellaneous ...
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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 ...
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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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What exactly happens when vegetable oil is partially hydrogenated?
My current assumption is that partial hydrogenation requires a polyunsaturated fat, because partial implies at least one but not all, which means there must be at least two double bonds in the fat, ...
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What happens when C17H35COO-, a soap, reacts with an acidic solution?
My book says that-
In acidic water, the negative fatty acid ions become fatty acids.
However, they did not include a chemical equation to demonstrate this, so I made my own:
$$\ce{C17H35COO- (aq)...
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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?
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'Hard' soap vs. 'Soft' soap: Why do they work this way?
In school, we did an experiment using fat and $\ce{KOH}$ to create 'soft' soap.
Afterwards, we added $\ce{NaOH}$ to change it into 'hard' soap.
I read on multiple places on the internet that the ...
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