Fatty Acids
A fatty acid is a molecule characterized by the presence of a carboxyl group attached to a long hydrocarbon chain. Therefore these are molecules with a formula R–COOH where R is a hydrocarbon chain. Fatty acids can be said to be carboxylic acids, and come in two major varieties.
1. Saturated fatty acids do not have any double bonds. A fatty acid is saturated when every carbon atom in the hydrocarbon chain is bonded to as many hydrogen atoms as possible (the carbon atoms are saturated with hydrogen). Saturated fatty acids are solids at room temperature. Animal fats are a source of saturated fatty acids. In addition, fatty acids pack easily and form rigid structures (e.g., fatty acids are found in membranes).
2. Unsaturated fatty acids can have one or more double bonds along its hydrocarbon chain. A fatty acid with one double bond is called monounsaturated. If it contains two or more double bonds, we say that the fatty acid is polyunsaturated. The melting point of a fatty acid is influenced by the number of double bonds that the molecule contains and by the length of the hydrocarbon tail. The more double bonds it contains, the lower the melting point. As the length of the tail increases, the melting point increases. Plants are the source of unsaturated fatty acids.
