Biochemistry : Lipid Structures and Functions

Study concepts, example questions & explanations for Biochemistry

varsity tutors app store varsity tutors android store

Example Questions

Example Question #11 : Lipid Classifications

Increased unsaturation in a fatty acid results in __________.

Possible Answers:

no change in membrane fluidity

decreased membrane fluidity

an increase or decrease in fluidity dependent of the temperature

no change with respect to membrane fluidity

increased membrane fluidity

Correct answer:

increased membrane fluidity

Explanation:

A greater degree of unsaturation results in a disruption of van der Waals forces between fatty acid chains. This is due to the "kinks" that occur within an unsaturated fatty acid. It is easy to visualize a fatty acid membrane with kinks being less tightly packed, and therefore more fluid. This increase in fluidity is independent of temperature.

Example Question #12 : Lipid Classifications

Which of the following is true of an omega-6 fatty acid?

Possible Answers:

It has a double bond at the sixth position, counting from the carboxyl end of the fatty acid

It has a double bond at the sixth position, counting from the methyl end of the fatty acid

It has a single bond at the sixth position, counting from the carboxyl end of the fatty acid

It has a single bond at the sixth position, counting from the methyl end of the fatty acid

It has six double bonds located throughout the fatty acid

Correct answer:

It has a double bond at the sixth position, counting from the methyl end of the fatty acid

Explanation:

The rules for fatty acid nomenclature state that Omega 6 means that a double bond is located at the sixth position of the fatty acid - counting from the methyl end.

Example Question #13 : Lipid Classifications

Which of the following statements about lipids is incorrect?

Possible Answers:

Biological waxes are nonpolar esters of fatty acids and long chain alcohols

Myristic acid is saturated with 14 carbons and 0 double bonds

None of these

Lipid double bonds are almost always cis

Linolenic acid's nomenclature is C18:29,12

Correct answer:

Linolenic acid's nomenclature is C18:29,12

Explanation:

Linoleic acid's nomenclature is C18:29,12. Linolenic acid's nomenclature is C18:39,12,15. They both have 18 carbons but differ by one extra double bond in linolenic acid. 

Example Question #14 : Lipid Classifications

In fat, which glycolysis metabolite is a reactant in single-step synthesis of glycerol 3-phosphate?

Possible Answers:

Pyruvate

Phosphoenolpyruvate

Dihydroxyacetone phosphate

Glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate

3-phosphoglycerate

Correct answer:

Dihydroxyacetone phosphate

Explanation:

Glycerol phosphate can be created by the glycerol phosphate shuttle. Insects use this process in their muscles for flying, because they require quick ATP synthesis. To generate that ATP, the NADH synthesized during glycolysis ends up being regenerated into , and is shuttled over to the mitochondria to participate immediately in oxidative phosphorylation. Via the glycerol phosphate shuttle, NADH reduces dihydroxyacetone phosphate directly into glycerol phosphate, in a reaction that is catalyzed by glycerol 3-phosphate dehydrogenase. The metabolite here that can be recognized from glycolysis is the dihydroxyacetone phosphate. Phosphoenolpyruvate, pyruvate, and 3-phosphoglycerate are all indeed glycolysis metabolites, but none could be easily reduced to glycerol 3-phosphate. If you guessed glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate, you’d be close, because structurally, it appears that it could also be directly reduced to glycerol phosphate. Indeed, during glycolysis, it is interconverted to dihydroxyacetone phosphate. But the glycerol phosphate shuttle uses dihydroxyacetone phosphate; hence, the answer is dihydroxyacetone phosphate.

Example Question #1 : Phospholipids

Which component of a phospholipid imparts a charge upon the macromolecule and therefore makes the head hydrophilic? 

Possible Answers:

Glycerol backbone

Unsaturated fatty acid

Saturated fatty acid

Phosphate group

Ketone group

Correct answer:

Phosphate group

Explanation:

Phospholipids are amphipathic, meaning they have an end that is hydrophobic (the fatty acid tail) and an end that is hydrophilic (the head). Phosphate groups have a negative charge, thus attracting them to water, and the presence of a phosphate group at the head of a phospholipid makes that head hydrophilic. Glycerol itself polarizes a fatty acid, but the glycerol is located in the head, not the backbone, and is not charged like phosphate.

Example Question #16 : Lipid Classifications

In sufficient concentrations, one-tailed phospholipids will form a __________ in solution.

Possible Answers:

liposome

bilayer

vesicle

micelle

Correct answer:

micelle

Explanation:

The polar head groups and the hydrocarbon tails will separate themselves in such a way that one-tailed phospholipids will form micelles, whereas two-tailed phospholipids will form a bilayer (liposome). 

Example Question #17 : Lipid Classifications

Which of the following is false about phospholipids?

Possible Answers:

If a phospholipid bilayer slightly breaks apart, the lipids rearrange on their own to refill the layer. 

Typically, at least one tail is saturated and another tail is unsaturated.

Their hydrophilic tails are exposed to the interior of membranes, and their hydrophobic heads to the exterior.

When, in water, they form a sphere, it is called a micelle.

The fluidity of membranes composed of phospholipids is affected by the length and degree of saturation of fatty acid tails.

Correct answer:

Their hydrophilic tails are exposed to the interior of membranes, and their hydrophobic heads to the exterior.

Explanation:

Phospholipids have two hydrocarbon tails, and one is indeed usually relatively saturated (has no double bonds) and the other relatively saturated (has double bonds). The degree of saturation, as well as the length, influences membrane fluidity; more cis-double bonds pack together less tightly, and decrease fluidity. In order to minimize free energy, the hydrophobic parts of phospholipids rearrange to refill a bilayer if it happens to break. In water, phospholipids can form a membrane, or a sphere called a micelle in which the hydrophobic tails pack together. Note that the tails are hydrophobic, and the heads are hydrophilic; tails are oriented toward the interior of a bilayered membrane.

Example Question #18 : Lipid Classifications

Why do phospholipids and glycolipids form bilayers rather than micelles when placed in an aqueous media?

Possible Answers:

None of these

The two fatty acid chains present in glycolipids/phospholipids are too bulky to form micelles 

Phospholipids and glycolipids are far less unsaturated than free fatty acids

Phospholipids and glycolipids do not have hydrocarbon tails, and so there is nothing to drive them towards micelle formation

Hydrophobic interactions do not drive the fatty acid hydrocarbons inwards in phospholipids and glycolipids as they do for free fatty acids

Correct answer:

The two fatty acid chains present in glycolipids/phospholipids are too bulky to form micelles 

Explanation:

Phospholipids and glycolipids have two hydrocarbon chains, whereas free fatty acids only have one.  The extra carbon tail, in combination with the unsaturation of these types of lipids (double bonds present) makes them far bulkier than free fatty acids.  The extra bulk disallows micelle formation, and bilayers (liposomes) form instead.

Example Question #2 : Phospholipids

Which of the following is not a component of a typical phospholipid?

Possible Answers:

Phosphate group

Glycerol

Ester group

Amino group

Carbon chain

Correct answer:

Amino group

Explanation:

A typical phospholipid is made up of a glycerol with two fatty acid carbon chains stemming off of it. On the other side of the glycerol a phosphate group is connected, an ester group connects the tail to the head. An amino group, however, is not present.

Example Question #14 : Lipid Classifications

Which of the following would be characteristic of a steroid hormone? 

Possible Answers:

Binding to cytosolic or nuclear receptors

Not requiring any proteins to transport them to target cell in the bloodstream

Effects are short term and quickly reversed

Binding to receptors on the outside of the cell membrane

Correct answer:

Binding to cytosolic or nuclear receptors

Explanation:

Steroid hormones are derivatives of cholesterol and therefore can pass through the plasma membrane of cells since they are lipophilic. Steroid hormones generally don't bind on the surface of plasma membranes, but instead to receptors inside the cell itself. Since they are nonpolar, they are carried by proteins in the blood. 

Learning Tools by Varsity Tutors