Natural products: fats and oils
Intermediate 2 Chemistry
Unit 2(e)
Key questions
• What is the difference between a fat
and an oil?
• What causes this difference?
Classifying fats and oils
• According to their origin
– Animal e.g. lard
– Vegetable e.g. sunflower oil
– Marine e.g. cod liver oil
Function in the human body
• Provide energy
• A more concentrated energy source
than the same mass of carbohydrate
What are fats and oils?
• Esters
• Their parent alcohol is glycerol
• The alkanoic acids are fatty acids
Glycerol
Fatty acids
Key questions
• Can you give an example of a situation
when fats or oils are broken down?
• What type of reaction is involved?
• In what ratio will the products be
produced?
Difference between fats and oils
• Fats are solid at room temperature; oils
are liquids.
• Fats have higher melting points than oils.
Structure of fats
• Saturated
molecules
• Regular
structure
• Tight
packing
• Stronger
forces
between
molecules
Structure of oils
• Unsaturated
molecules
• Irregular
structure
• Loose
packing
• Weaker
forces
between
molecules
Converting oils into fats
• What would need to be done to convert
an oil into a fat?
– C=C is removed through an addition
reaction with hydrogen