Lipid classification and cell membrane structure and transport concepts tested on the MCAT.
35 cards · basic cards · AI-written, checked twice. Edit anything.
- What is a fatty acid?
- A carboxylic acid with a long hydrocarbon tail.
- What distinguishes a saturated fatty acid from an unsaturated one?
- A saturated fatty acid has no carbon-carbon double bonds; an unsaturated one has at least one.
- Why do unsaturated fatty acids typically have a lower melting point than saturated ones?
- Double bonds create kinks that prevent the tails from packing tightly together.
- What are the two essential fatty acids the human body cannot synthesize?
- Linoleic acid and alpha-linolenic acid.
- In an omega-3 fatty acid, where is the first double bond located?
- At the third carbon counting from the methyl (omega) end.
- What three components make up a triacylglycerol?
- One glycerol molecule joined to three fatty acids.
- What type of chemical bond links fatty acids to glycerol in a triglyceride?
- An ester bond.
- What is the main biological role of triacylglycerols?
- Long term energy storage.
- What does the term amphipathic mean for a membrane lipid?
- It has both a hydrophilic (polar) region and a hydrophobic (nonpolar) region.
- What are the four main components of a glycerophospholipid?
- A glycerol backbone, two fatty acid tails, a phosphate group, and a polar head group.
- Which part of a phospholipid faces the aqueous environment in a bilayer?
- The polar phosphate head group.
- What backbone do sphingolipids use instead of glycerol?
- Sphingosine, an amino alcohol.
- What is sphingomyelin?
- A sphingolipid with a phosphocholine head group, abundant in myelin sheaths.
- What is a glycolipid?
- A lipid with an attached sugar group, found on the outer leaflet of the plasma membrane and involved in cell recognition.
- What distinguishes a ganglioside from a cerebroside?
- A ganglioside has a complex oligosaccharide head containing sialic acid; a cerebroside has a single simple sugar.