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GCSE Combined Science · key term
A molecule with a long chain of carbon and hydrogen atoms that can join to glycerol to form a lipid.
Used by OCR
Specification B1.3f · Biology Paper 1
Revise: Fatty Acids, Glycerol, and Lipid MetabolismTo understand how cells make and break down lipids, start with their smaller building blocks: fatty acids and glycerol. These are different kinds of molecule, but both are needed to make the fats and oils that organisms store.
Name both fatty acids and glycerol when describing the building blocks of lipids or the products of lipid breakdown.
Keep the directions clear: synthesis joins smaller molecules to make a lipid; breakdown releases fatty acids and glycerol.
For a triglyceride, give the ratio as one glycerol molecule to three fatty acids. Do not describe it as a long polymer chain.
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