What is the key structural difference between a saturated fatty acid and an unsaturated fatty acid?
Explanation
The saturation of a fatty acid is determined by the types of bonds in its hydrocarbon tail. Saturated fatty acids contain only single carbon-carbon bonds, allowing them to be 'saturated' with hydrogen atoms. Unsaturated fatty acids have one or more double carbon-carbon bonds, creating kinks in their structure.
Other questions
Which four elements collectively make up more than 95 percent of the human body's mass?
What is the smallest quantity of an element that retains the unique properties of that element?
What is the defining characteristic that gives an element its distinctive properties?
According to the octet rule, atoms are most stable when they have how many electrons in their valence shell?
What type of chemical bond is formed by an ongoing, close association between ions of opposite charge?
Which type of chemical reaction results in the joining of components that were formerly separate, such as A + B forming AB?
What role do enzymes play in chemical reactions within the human body?
Which of the following best distinguishes an inorganic compound from an organic compound?
What is a solution with a pH of 5 in relation to a solution with a pH of 7?
What is the primary function of buffers in the human body?
Which of the five functional groups important in human physiology is a component of all four major types of organic compounds discussed in the chapter?
Which of the following is a pentose sugar, a monosaccharide containing five atoms of carbon?
What is the term for the polysaccharide that is the primary component of the cell wall of green plants and is referred to as 'fiber' in the human diet?
What are the three components that make up a triglyceride molecule?
How many different amino acids contribute to nearly all of the thousands of different proteins important in human structure and function?
What is the term for the change in a protein's structure through physical or chemical means, causing it to lose its functional shape?
Which level of protein structure is defined by the sequence of amino acids of which it is made?
What are the three subunits that compose a nucleotide?
What is the key difference between the nitrogenous bases found in DNA versus RNA?
What percentage of an adult's body weight is composed of water?
In the process of dehydration synthesis, what molecule is released as a byproduct?
What is the mass number of the most common form of carbon, which has six protons and six neutrons?
A radioactive isotope of hydrogen, tritium, has a half-life of about 12 years. What does this indicate?
In a water molecule, which atom's nucleus more strongly attracts the shared electrons, leading to a polar covalent bond?
What type of chemical reaction is characterized as releasing more energy than it absorbs?
Which form of energy, supplied by electrolytes in cells and body fluids, contributes to the voltage changes that help transmit impulses in nerve and muscle cells?
What type of liquid mixture is characterized by solute particles consisting of tiny clumps of molecules large enough to make the mixture opaque because they scatter light?
What is defined as a substance that releases hydrogen ions (H+) in solution?
The normal pH of human blood is identified as typically being what value?
What is the chemical formula for a 'generic' molecule of carbohydrate, where 'n' represents the number of carbon atoms?
Which disaccharide is commonly referred to as table sugar?
Which cells in the human body can use only glucose for fuel?
What type of lipid has a foundation of four hydrocarbon rings bonded to a variety of other atoms and molecules?
Which statement accurately describes the secondary structure of a protein?
What is the function of the compound Adenosine triphosphate (ATP) in the body?
What is the term for a substance composed of two or more elements joined by chemical bonds, such as glucose (C6H12O6)?
The periodic table of elements arranges elements in order of their what?
What type of bond forms when a weakly positive hydrogen atom, already part of a polar molecule, is attracted to another electronegative atom from another molecule?
A chemical reaction's activation energy is best described as what?
What type of chemical reaction is represented by the equation NH3 -> N + 3H, where ammonia is broken down into its components?
Which property of water allows it to absorb and dissipate heat without a large corresponding increase in its own temperature?
What are the two components of a salt, such as sodium chloride (NaCl), when it dissociates in water?
What is the name of the process by which single units called monomers link by covalent bonds to form long polymers?
What type of bond is formed between two amino acids during dehydration synthesis?
What are the nitrogen-containing bases adenine and guanine classified as, due to their double ring structure?
The addition of a phosphate group to an organic compound, such as the conversion of ADP to ATP, is known as what process?
What is the term for a molecule that contains both a hydrophilic and a hydrophobic region, such as a phospholipid?
How many electron shells does an atom of nitrogen, which has an atomic number of seven, likely have?
Which of the following is an example of a molecule, but not a compound?