PHYSCI 5 Lecture Notes - Lecture 28: Saturated Fat, Trans Fat, Coconut Oil
PHYSCI 5 verified notes
28/28View all
Document Summary
Fat has lots of calories - 1g = 9 calories. A function of fat is for fuel/energy for the cells (carbohydrates as well) Fat is needed to make hormones and helps with vitamin absorption. Fat constitutes our cell membrane (the border) Fat is a hydrocarbon (the majority of it is made of hydrogen and carbon) For carbon to be stable, it must have 4 bonds (2 carbon bonds and 2 hydrogen bonds) The last carbon is called the alpha carbon, it has some different bonds. These molecules (ones with hydrogen) are called saturated fat. Carbons without 2 hydrogen molecules to bond to will form a double bond with each other. This changes the molecule"s shape, bending it. Saturated fats are solid at room temperature. Unsaturated fats are liquid at room temperature. There is rarely a type of lipid that has only saturated or only unsaturated fats. The bonded molecules are called fatty acid chains.
