EVERYDAY SCIENCE

Detailed explanation-1: -Glycerol and fatty acids are the basic building blocks of fats (lipids). Fats are the product of the esterification of the trivalent alcohol glycerol with fatty acids of different lengths (between 12 and 20 carbon atoms). Two important representatives of the lipids are triglyceride (90% of fats) and cholesterol.

Detailed explanation-2: -The building blocks of lipids are one glycerol molecule and at least one fatty acid, with a maximum of three fatty acids. Glycerol is a sugar alcohol with three OH groups. It acts as a backbone for fatty acids to bond. Fatty acids are made up of a long hydrocarbon with carboxyl group, which is represented as COOH.

Detailed explanation-3: -Fatty acids consist of a long hydrocarbon chain (–CH2–CH2–) with a carboxyl group, typically at the terminus of the molecule. The hydrocarbon chain can be saturated or unsaturated (containing double bonds) depending on the origin of the fatty acid.

Detailed explanation-4: -Lipids tend to be hydrophobic, nonpolar, and made up mostly of hydrocarbon chains, though there are some variations on this, which we’ll explore below. The different varieties of lipids have different structures, and correspondingly diverse roles in organisms.