MCAT Physical › Structural Lipids
What properties of phospholipids make the formation of cell membranes possible?
Phospholipids are amphiphatic
Phospholipids are completely polar
Phospholipids are completely non-polar
Phospholipids are inorganic
Phospholipids have two fatty acid tails made of hydrocarbons, which are nonpolar, and a phosphate head, which is polar. Their structure allows phospholipids to group up into a bilayer such that the polar heads face the outside environment while the non-polar fatty tails face inward, protected from the aqueous environment. Phospholipids are not completely polar or non-polar, they are amphiphathic.