What 3 things are the structure of a phospholipid made of?

What 3 things are the structure of a phospholipid made of?

In general, phospholipids are composed of a phosphate group, two alcohols, and one or two fatty acids. On one end of the molecule are the phosphate group and one alcohol; this end is polar, i.e., has an electric charge, and is attracted to water (hydrophilic).

What are the main components of a phospholipid?

Phospholipids are abundant in all biological membranes. A phospholipid molecule is constructed from four components: fatty acids, a platform to which the fatty acids are attached, a phosphate, and an alcohol attached to the phosphate (Figure 12.3).

What are the 3 building blocks of phospholipids?

The building blocks of a phospholipid include two fatty acid tails, the glycerol backbone and a phosphate head.

What are 3 characteristic of a phospholipid bilayer?

Phospholipid Bilayer. The phospholipid bilayer consists of two layers of phospholipids, with a hydrophobic, or water-hating, interior and a hydrophilic, or water-loving, exterior. The hydrophilic (polar) head group and hydrophobic tails (fatty acid chains) are depicted in the single phospholipid molecule.

What are the three main types of lipids?

The three primary types of lipids are phospholipids , sterols, and triglycerides . They each play a different role in the body.

What are the types of phospholipids?

Four major phospholipids predominate in the plasma membrane of many mammalian cells: phosphatidylcholine, phosphatidylethanolamine, phosphatidylserine, and sphingomyelin. The structures of these molecules are shown in Figure 10-12.

Which structures have a phospholipid bilayer?

The nucleus, mitochondria and chloroplasts have two lipid bilayers, while other sub-cellular structures are surrounded by a single lipid bilayer (such as the plasma membrane, endoplasmic reticula, Golgi apparatus and lysosomes).

What part of the cell makes phospholipids?

ER membrane
Phospholipid synthesis occurs in the cytosolic side of ER membrane that is studded with proteins that act in synthesis (GPAT and LPAAT acyl transferases, phosphatase and choline phosphotransferase) and allocation (flippase and floppase).

What makes up the head of a phospholipid?

Phospholipids are made up of two fatty acids (long chains of hydrogen and carbon molecules), which are attached to a glycerol ‘head.’ The glycerol molecule is also attached to a phosphate group, and this is the hydrophilic part of the molecule.

Where are phospholipids found in plants and animals?

Phospholipids are found in high concentrations in many other animal and plant sources, such as soybeans, sunflowers, cotton seeds, corn, and even cow brains.

What makes a phospholipid different from a glycerol molecule?

The difference is that Instead of having three fatty acids attached to the glycerol molecule, one fatty acid is replaced by a phosphate group, made up of phosphorous, oxygen, and hydrogen. Phospholipids help in determining which substances can flow in and out of the cell.

Can a phospholipid have more than one tail?

Direct link to Cecilia Imm’s post “No, a phosphlipid cannot …” No, a phosphlipid cannot have 3 tails because the 3 carbons of the glycerol backbone is used up: two by the fatty acids and one by the phosophocholine group. There are lipids with three chains (no phospho group) such as triacylglyceride (TAG).