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

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Q: In unsaturated fats the fatty acid chain is missing some atoms of?
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What type of fatty acid has double bonds?

The two basic types of fatty acids are saturated and unsaturated. A fatty acid consists of a hydrocarbon chain and a carboxyl group: CH3(CH2)nCOOH Saturated fatty acids have only single bonds between the carbon atoms in the hydrocarbon chain ie the molecule is "saturated" with hydrogen atoms and no more can be added. Unsaturated fatty acids have one or more double bonds between the carbon atoms in the hydrocarbon chain. Fatty acids with a single double bond are called monounsaturated. Fatty acids with two or more double bonds are called polyunsaturated. See:http://users.rcn.com/jkimball.ma.ultranet/BiologyPages/F/Fats.html


A fat is called what if all the fatty acid chains are single bonded to two other carbons and two hydrogens?

If a fatty acid has a completely single-bonded carbon chain with as many hydrogen atoms as possible bound to the chain, it is refered to as a "saturated" fat. It is literally saturated with hydrogen atoms. If the chain has one or more double bonds, those double bonds reduce the number of hydrogen atoms, and so that is an "unsaturated" fat.


Why do saturated fatty acids have structures while unsaturated fatty acids have bent structures?

Because unsaturated fatty acids have many double bonds and the atoms cannot rotate freely around those double bonds. In the saturated fatty acids, there are no double bonds (only single bonds) and so the atoms are free to rotate.


What is the significance of double bonds in the fatty acids?

Fatty acids are either saturated or unsaturated. When a fatty acid is saturated it is literally saturated with hydrogen bonds. This only occurs when there are single bonds present. If there are double bonds present between the carbon atoms, less hyrdogen atoms are required and the fatty acid is said to be unsaturated. These unsaturated fats are easier to break down by the cells of your body because double bonds react more readily.


Fatty acids with double bonds between carbons are described to be?

Fatty acids with double bonds between some of their carbons are referred to as unsaturated fatty acids. These fatty acids tend be remain in liquid form at room temperature.

Related questions

What is the difference between a saturaded and unsaturaded fatty acid?

The difference between a saturated and unsaturated fatty acid are the number of hydrogen atoms and double carbon bonds in the fatty acid chain. A saturated fatty acid has no carbon double bonds, two hydrogen atoms for each carbon atom along the chain and three for the carbon atom at each end. In an unsaturated fatty acid chain some of the hydrogen atoms are replaced by a double bond between neighboring carbon atoms. Mon-unsaturated and poly-unsaturated fatty acids differ in the number of double carbon bonds in the chain, and thus the total number of hydrogen atoms.


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

A saturated fatty acid chain is composed of a carbon chain with only single covalent bonds. This creates a tetrahedral geometry of the atoms. An unsaturated fatty acid chain is composed of a carbon chain with one or more double covalent bonds. This creates a trigonal geometry of the atoms at the double covalent bond.


What type of fatty acid has double bonds?

The two basic types of fatty acids are saturated and unsaturated. A fatty acid consists of a hydrocarbon chain and a carboxyl group: CH3(CH2)nCOOH Saturated fatty acids have only single bonds between the carbon atoms in the hydrocarbon chain ie the molecule is "saturated" with hydrogen atoms and no more can be added. Unsaturated fatty acids have one or more double bonds between the carbon atoms in the hydrocarbon chain. Fatty acids with a single double bond are called monounsaturated. Fatty acids with two or more double bonds are called polyunsaturated. See:http://users.rcn.com/jkimball.ma.ultranet/BiologyPages/F/Fats.html


Difference between a saturated fatty acid and an unsaturated fatty acid?

Fatty acid is a carboxylic acid with a long aliphatic tail (chain), which is either saturated or unsaturated. A saturated fatty acid contains the maximum amount of hydrogen atoms. Saturated fatty acids are long-chain carboxylic acids that generally have between 12 and 24 carbon atoms and have no double bonds. They are saturated with hydrogen because saturated fatty acids have only single bonds, each carbon atom within the chain has 2 hydrogen atoms. Unsaturated fatty acids do not contain the maximum amount of hydrogen atoms, therefore two or more carbon atoms are attached with a double bond. Unsaturated fatty acids have one or more double bonds between carbon atoms.


What makes a fatty acid unsaturated?

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.


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.


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)


define saturated fatty acid?

A fatty acid as stearic acid , whose carbon chain contains no unsaturated linkages between carbon atoms and hence cannot incorporate any more hydrogen atoms.


What happens to fat when heated?

unsaturated fats (fats with on or more double bonds between atoms in the fatty acid chain) break down when exposed to a sufficient amount of heat. Saturated fats, which only have single bonds between the atoms in the fatty acid chain, break down at much higher temperatures than unsaturated fats.


Do the atoms have the same rotational ability or mobility in the unsaturated fatty acid as they had in the saturated fatty acid?

Not all of the atoms. The carbon atoms connected by a double bond in an unsaturated fatty acid have less rotational mobility than the carbon atoms connected by a single bond in a saturated fatty acid.


What is unsaturated lipid?

An unsaturated lipid is a type of fat where there is a minimum of one double bond inside the fatty acid chain. The fatty acid chain may be monounsaturated or polyunsaturated.


What fatty acid has had hydrogen atoms chemically added to its carbon chain?

When unsaturated fats, fats containing unsaturated fatty acids, are 'hardened' by chemical H2 addition to the double -CH=CH- bonds in the carbon skeleton, those C atoms become 'saturated' with two H atoms each (i.s.o. one): -CH2-CH2-.