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What makes a fatty acid unsaturated?

Updated: 8/10/2023
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11y ago

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A triglyceride contains three fatty acids that are composed of hydrogen, carbon and oxygen. In a single free fatty acid if there is a hydrogen missing from the carbon chain creating a double bond then it is considered to be unsaturated. Adversely, saturated fat contains no missing hydrogen's. Unsaturated=Okay, Saturated=BAD.

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14y ago
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13y ago

The presence of double bonds creates a "kink" in a fatty acid chain. The more "kinks" there are in the chain, the more unsaturated a lipid is. When there are no double bonds, there are no "kinks" and each fatty acid chain can lie flat, forming a denser substance which is generally solid at room temperature.

Saturated (think butter) = no double bonds --> no kinks --> denser product --> solid at room temp.

Unsaturated (think vegetable oil) = double bonds present --> kinks in each chain --> less dense --> liquid at room temp.

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7y ago

A fatty acid can be either saturated or unsaturated, depending on how hydrogenated it is.

  • Fully hydrogenated fatty acids are saturated fatty acids (i.e. they have no more spaces left where hydrogen atoms could bond).
  • Partially hydrogenated fatty acids are unsaturated (i.e. they have one or more spaces left open where hydrogen atoms could bond).
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6y ago

Saturated fatty acids are fatty acids that contain exclusively carbon-carbon single bonds along the fatty acid chain. Unsaturated fatty acids contain one or more carbon-carbon double bonds. They release less energy during metabolism than saturated fatty acids.

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8y ago

Saturated fats, refers to a fat with a chemical nature in which the carbon atoms are saturated with hydrogen atoms and do not contain double bonds between carbon atoms. Saturated fat is typically solid at room temperature while unsaturated fats are liquids.

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13y ago

It possesses no C=C double bonds, all Carbon atoms in the chain being saturated with Hydrogen atoms.

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11y ago

fatty acids have fewer hydrogen atoms because there is at least one double bond between carbon atoms.

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Q: What makes a fatty acid unsaturated?
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Related questions

Why is linolenic acid an unsaturated fatty acid?

Because fats are having double bond and triple bonds so they are known as unsaturated fatty acids.


An unsaturated fatty acid differs from a saturated fatty acid in that the unsaturated fatty acid contains what?

double carbon carbon bonds


What causes an unsaturated fatty acid to have a different shape than an a saturated fatty acid?

Unsaturated fatty acids have double carbon bonds.


What causes an unsaturated fatty acid to have a different shape than an saturated fatty acid?

The double chain in the unsaturated fatty acid cause it to bent; unlike saturated fatty acid which has no double bond, is straight


What cause an unsaturated fatty acid to have a different shape than a saturated fatty acid?

The double chain in the unsaturated fatty acid cause it to bent; unlike saturated fatty acid which has no double bond, is straight


What type of fatty acid has a bend in its structure?

unsaturated


What is Tran?

an unsaturated fatty acid that has been changed to a saturated fatty acid


What causes an unsaturated fatty acid to have differ t shape than a satires fatty acid?

Unsaturated fatty acids have double carbon bonds.


What cause an unsaturated fatty acid to have a different shape than a saturated acid?

The double chain in the unsaturated fatty acid cause it to bent; unlike saturated fatty acid which has no double bond, is straight


What type of bond makes a saturated fat into an unsaturated fat?

An unsaturated fat is a fat or fatty acid in which there is at least one double bond within the fatty acid chain.Saturated fatty acids have no double bonds between the carbon atoms of the fatty acid chain and are thus fully saturated with hydrogen atoms.(Wikipedia)


In unsaturated fats the fatty acid chain is missing some atoms of?

In unsaturated fats, the fatty acid chain is missing some atoms of hydrogen.


What does a unsaturated fatty acid contain?

A fatty acid contains double bonding within its carbon