Jim, the research assistant, has taken a job in Tasmania. He is working with a g

Question

Jim, the research assistant, has taken a job in Tasmania. He is working with a group of scientists who are monitoring a colony of Short-tailed Shearwaters (Puffinus tenuirostris) in the north west wilderness. These birds are also called ‘mutton birds’. These birds nest in 1m long burrows set in the sand dunes.The team is interested in the biological organisms impacting the birds and their environment.

The team initially spent some time studying the birds themselves. The birds produce a lot of oil which has some commercial value. Jim studied the composition of the oil. There was considerable amounts of a lipid that was found to be glycerol molecules attached to three long chain fatty acids and were therefore identified as __________ The purified oil was solid at room temperature (~20oC) and therefore it was not surprising that the fatty acids chains were highly  _________________. The oil also contained other lipids e.g.  ___________

Fill in the blanks with following options

-Polysaccharides
-Triglycerides
-carbohydrates
-glucose
-glycine
-cholesterol
-cellulose
-unsaturated
-saturated

Thanks

Explanation / Answer

There were considerable amounts of a lipid that was found to be glycerol molecules attached to three long chain fatty acids and were therefore identified as triglycerides. The purified oil was solid at room temperature (~20oC) and therefore it was not surprising that the fatty acids chains were highly saturated. The oil also contained other lipids e.g. cholesterol.

Explanation-Triglycerides are formed by combining glycerol with three fatty acid molecules. The glycerol molecule has three hydroxyl (OH) groups.

Saturated fatty acids- are those which contains single bonds in them hence their packing at room temperature is quite rigid, making it solid.

Cholesterol is a lipid with a unique structure consisting of four linked hydrocarbon rings forming the bulky steroid structure. There is a hydrocarbon tail linked to one end of the steroid and a hydroxyl group linked to the other end.

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