Student Name: Gomez

Class Code and Section:

CHEM1032L Number and Topic: Lab

7-Lipids Partner: -

Instructor Name: Ms Arnold

Date Lab was performed: February 27 th, 2023

Due Date for report: April 16 th, 2023

Datasheet: Lipids

I. The solubility of Fats

5mL Water and 5 drops 5mL Acetone/ether and 5mL Soap water and 5
of oil 5 drops of oil drops of oil
Observation These solutions did not Oil is soluble in The solution mix
mix together, instead, acetone, the oil occurred because the
the oil created a layer dissolved in the soap is attracted to
on the water's surface. acetone when it was both water and oil
this happened because added and shaken. Oil molecules, forcing
oil is less dense than is a non-polar solvent them to mix. The soap
water, so it floats to the and acetone is an acts to dissolve the oil,
surface. aprotic solvent (polar) allowing oil and water
meaning that this to mix together.
substance does not
donate protons in the
solution.

Analysis Questions:
1. Do the oil and water mix? What can you conclude about the polarity of the oil if you know that water is polar?
Oil and water do not mix because oil is non-polar while water is polar. Polar molecules have a partial positive charge
on one end and a partial negative charge on the other end, which allows them to form hydrogen bonds with other
polar molecules. Non-polar molecules, on the other hand, do not have partial charges and cannot form hydrogen
bonds with polar molecules. Therefore, oil and water cannot mix because they do not have similar intermolecular
forces.

2. The fat in the tube is a plant triacylglycerol (vegetable oil). Why is it a liquid at room temperature? Would you
expect an animal triacylglycerol to be solid or liquid at room temperature? Why?

Vegetable oil is a liquid at room temperature because it is composed of unsaturated fatty acids. Unsaturated fatty
acids have double bonds in their carbon chains, which create kinks in the molecule and prevent them from packing
closely together. This creates more space between the molecules, resulting in a lower melting point and a liquid
state at room temperature. In contrast, animal triacylglycerols are often composed of saturated fatty acids, which
have no double bonds and can pack more tightly together. This results in a higher melting point and a solid state at
room temperature.

3. Did the oil and water mix when you added the soap? What did the soap do to the fat?
When soap is added to a mixture of oil and water, the soap molecules attach to the oil droplets and surround them,
forming structures called micelles. The polar ends of the soap molecules face outward and are attracted to the water,
while the non-polar ends face inward and are attracted to the oil. This allows the oil droplets to be dispersed in the
water, creating an emulsion.
4. Did the oil and acetone/ether mix? Now that you know that oil is non-polar what can you conclude about the
polarity of the ether?

Oil and acetone/ether do mix because acetone/ether is also a non-polar solvent. Like dissolves like, so non-polar
solvents can dissolve other non-polar substances. Therefore, we can conclude that acetone/ether is also a non-polar
solvent.

5. Fats do not dissolve in water but phospholipids used to form membranes can disperse in water to form micelles.
Why? Sketch a model of what a micelle made from a fatty acid would look like in an aqueous environment.

Phospholipids used to form membranes can disperse in water to form micelles because they have a polar
head group and a non-polar tail. The polar head group is hydrophilic, meaning it is attracted to water, while
the non-polar tail is hydrophobic, meaning it is repelled by water. In an aqueous environment, the
phospholipids arrange themselves in such a way that the polar head groups face outward and interact with
water, while the non-polar tails face inward and interact with each other. This creates a spherical structure
called a micelle, with the hydrophobic tails in the core and the hydrophilic heads on the surface.

A micelle made from a fatty acid in an aqueous environment would look like a sphere with the fatty acid
tails pointing towards the center and the polar head groups pointing outward. The fatty acid tails would
form a hydrophobic core, while the polar head groups would interact with water, forming a
hydrophilic shell.
II.A test for the Degree of saturation in fatty acid
15 mL vinegar 10 drops iodine 2 mL starch solution
Observation
5 mL coconut oil The solution separated Iodine is a non-polar
this happened because molecule so it can be When the starch was
the vinegar and mixed with vinegar a added, the iodine
coconut oil is made up polar molecule due to solution proved that
of different types of the presence of dipole- the starch was present
molecules that are induced dipole in the solution.
attracted to their own interactions between
kind. them. When the fluids
are shaken off iodine
leaves the water and
dissolves the oil and
returns to its purple
color.

5mL soybean oil This solution did not The acetic acid Starch is responsible
combine because molecules in vinegar for the formation of a
vinegar is much heavier can induce temporary deep blue color in the
than soybean oil, dipole to the iodine presence of iodine.
therefore vinegar is molecules allowing
denser than soybean them to attract. Iodine
oil. molecules leave the
water to dissolve in oil
dye to how polarity
affects solubility.
5mL canola oil Canola oil and vinegar Iodine and vinegar are The purple color in the
do not mix, the oil mixed together while substance mixture
floated to the top of the outcome of oil and indicated that the
the solution while the iodine together results starch was present.
vinegar settled to the in a purple color.
bottom of the test
tube.
1. Look up the structures of the main fatty acid found in coconut oil and the main fatty acid
found in soybean oil.
Draw skeletal structures for these two molecules.

5. Explain your results with reference to the structures that you drew. (Hint: t h e presence
of a double bond represents unsaturation. Iodine binds to those double bonds)
Due to the presence of double bonds within the linoleic acid found within the soybean oil, it is
unsaturated. The iodine will break the double bond by attaching itself to it; this is what causes
the decolorization. The degree of lipids unsaturated is shown by the amount of iodine required
to achieve de-coloration, which increases as the number of double bonds in the lipids increases
(Education. com,2023). Since lauric acid is found in coconut oil, it has no double bonds. It is
saturated and decolorization cannot occur. The main fatty acid found in Canola oil is mono-
unsaturated oleic acid, containing only one double bond; this is why the decolorization was
not as significant as the soybean oil.
Phospholipids have a hydrophilic head and hydrophobic tail. The hydrophilic head consists of
a phosphate group that is charged and interacts with water, while the hydrophobic tail consists
of fatty acid chains that are non-polar and do not interact with water. This unique structure of
phospholipids allows them to disperse in water and form micelles, which are spherical
structures with the hydrophilic heads facing outward and the hydrophobic tails facing inward,
away from water. In a cell membrane, phospholipids form a bilayer structure, with the
hydrophilic heads facing outwards and the hydrophobic tails facing inward. This bilayer
structure provides a selectively permeable barrier that separates the cell’s interior from its
external surroundings while also allowing certain molecules to pass through the membrane
(Alberts B, Johnson A, Lewis J,et al,2002).
 Reference:

Lipids. (n.d.). https://www.rsb.org.uk/images/05_Lipids.pdf

Like. (2010, December 28). Education.com. Education.com; Education.com.

https://www.education.com/science-fair/article/like-oil-and-vinegar/