Chapter 17 Fatty Acid Catabolism
Multiple Choice Questions
1. Digestion, mobilization, and transport of fats
Ans: A
Lipoprotein lipase acts in:
A)
B)
C)
D)
E)
hydrolysis of triacylglycerols of plasma lipoproteins to supply fatty acids to various tissues.
intestinal uptake of dietary fat.
intracellular lipid breakdown of lipoproteins.
lipoprotein breakdown to supply needed amino acids.
none of the above.
2. Digestion, mobilization, and transport of fats
Ans: C
The role of hormone-sensitive triacylglycerol lipase is to:
A)
B)
C)
D)
E)
hydrolyze lipids stored in the liver.
hydrolyze membrane phospholipids in hormone-producing cells.
hydrolyze triacylglycerols stored in adipose tissue.
synthesize lipids in adipose tissue.
synthesize triacylglycerols in the liver.
3. Digestion, mobilization, and transport of fats
Ans: A
Transport of fatty acids from the cytoplasm to the mitochondrial matrix requires:
A)
B)
C)
D)
E)
ATP, carnitine, and coenzyme A.
ATP, carnitine, and pyruvate dehydrogenase.
ATP, coenzyme A, and hexokinase.
ATP, coenzyme A, and pyruvate dehydrogenase.
carnitine, coenzyme A, and hexokinase.
4. Digestion, mobilization, and transport of fats
Ans: C
Carnitine is:
A)
B)
C)
D)
E)
a 15-carbon fatty acid.
an essential cofactor for the citric acid cycle.
essential for intracellular transport of fatty acids.
one of the amino acids commonly found in protein.
present only in carnivorous animals.
5. Oxidation of fatty acids
Ans: C
What is the correct order of function of the following enzymes of  oxidation?
1. -Hydroxyacyl-CoA dehydrogenase
Chapter 17 Fatty Acid Catabolism
2. Thiolase
3. Enoyl-CoA hydratase
4. Acyl-CoA dehydrogenase
A)
B)
C)
D)
E)
1, 2, 3, 4
3, 1, 4, 2
4, 3, 1, 2
1, 4, 3, 2
4, 2, 3, 1
6. Oxidation of fatty acids
Ans: C
Saturated fatty acids are degraded by the stepwise reactions of  oxidation, producing acetyl-CoA.
Under aerobic conditions, how many ATP molecules would be produced as a consequence of removal
of each acetyl-CoA?
A)
B)
C)
D)
E)
2
3
4
5
6
7. Oxidation of fatty acids
Ans: B
Which of the following is (are) true of the oxidation of 1 mol of palmitate (a 16-carbon saturated fatty
acid; 16:0) by the -oxidation pathway, beginning with the free fatty acid in the cytoplasm?
1. Activation of the free fatty acid requires the equivalent of two ATPs.
2. Inorganic pyrophosphate (PPi) is produced.
3. Carnitine functions as an electron acceptor.
4. 8 mol of FADH2 are formed.
5. 8 mol of acetyl-CoA are formed.
+
6. There is no direct involvement of NAD .
A)
B)
C)
D)
E)
1 and 5 only
1, 2, and 5
1, 2, and 6
1, 3, and 5
5 only
8. Oxidation of fatty acids
Ans: B
Complete oxidation of 1 mole of which fatty acid would yield the most ATP?
A)
B)
C)
D)
E)
16-carbon saturated fatty acid
18-carbon mono-unsaturated fatty acid
16-carbon mono-unsaturated fatty acid
16-carbon poly-unsaturated fatty acid
14-carbon saturated fatty acid
Chapter 17 Fatty Acid Catabolism
9. Oxidation of fatty acids
Ans: D
Which of the following statements apply (applies) to the  oxidation of fatty acids?
1. The process takes place in the cytosol of mammalian cells.
2. Carbon atoms are removed from the acyl chain one at a time.
3. Before oxidation, fatty acids must be converted to their CoA derivatives.
+
4. NADP is the electron acceptor.
5. The products of  oxidation can directly enter the citric acid cycle for further oxidation.
A)
B)
C)
D)
E)
1 and 3 only
1, 2, and 3
1, 2, and 5
3 and 5 only
4 only
10. Oxidation of fatty acids
Ans: D
Which of the following statements concerning the  oxidation of fatty acids is true?
A) About 1,200 ATP molecules are ultimately produced per 20-carbon fatty acid oxidized.
B) One FADH2 and two NADH are produced for each acetyl-CoA.
C) The free fatty acid must be carboxylated in the  position by a biotin-dependent reaction before
the process of  oxidation commences.
D) The free fatty acid must be converted to a thioester before the process of  oxidation
commences.
E) Two NADH are produced for each acetyl-CoA.
11. Oxidation of fatty acids
Ans: A
The conversion of palmitoyl-CoA (16:0) to myristoyl-CoA (14:0) and 1 mol of acetyl-CoA by the oxidation pathway results in the net formation of:
A)
B)
C)
D)
E)
1 FADH2 and 1 NADH.
1 FADH2 and 1 NADPH.
1 FADH2, 1 NADH, and 1 ATP.
2 FADH2 and 2 NADH.
2 FADH2, 2 NADH, and 1 ATP.
Chapter 17 Fatty Acid Catabolism
12. Oxidation of fatty acids
Ans: C
Which of the following is not true regarding the oxidation of 1 mol of palmitate (16:0) by the oxidation pathway?
A)
B)
C)
D)
E)
1 mol of ATP is needed.
8 mol of acetyl-CoA are formed.
8 mol of FADH2 are formed.
AMP and PPi are formed.
The reactions occur in the mitochondria.
13. Oxidation of fatty acids
Ans: E
If an aerobic organism (e.g., the bacterium E. coli) were fed each of the following four compounds as
a source of energy, the energy yield per mole from these molecules would be in the order:
A)
B)
C)
D)
E)
alanine > glucose > palmitate (16:0)
glucose > alanine > palmitate
glucose > palmitate > alanine
palmitate > alanine > glucose
palmitate > glucose > alanine
14. Oxidation of fatty acids
Ans: D
The carbon atoms from a fatty acid with an odd number of carbons will enter the citric acid cycle as
acetyl-CoA and:
A)
B)
C)
D)
E)
butyrate.
citrate.
malate.
succinyl-CoA.
-ketoglutarate.
Short Answer Questions
15. Digestion, mobilization, and transport of fats
Why is it more efficient to store energy as lipid rather than as glycogen?
Ans: First, the energy yield per gram of lipid (about 38 kJ/g) is more than twice that for carbohydrate
(about 17 kJ/g). Second, lipid is stored as anhydrous lipid droplets, but carbohydrates such as
glycogen and starch are stored hydrated, and the water of hydration roughly triples the effective
weight of the carbohydrate, reducing the energy yield to about 6 kJ/g.
16. Digestion, mobilization, and transport of fats
In the first step of fatty acid oxidation, the fatty acid (R—COOH) is converted to its coenzyme A
derivative in the following reaction:
R–COOH + ATP + CoA–SH  R–CO–S–CoA + AMP + PPi
The standard free-energy change (G') for this reaction is –15 kJ/mol
Chapter 17 Fatty Acid Catabolism
What will tend to make the reaction more favorable when it takes place within a cell?
Ans: The hydrolysis of PPi by inorganic pyrophosphatase, for which G' is –19 kJ/mol, makes the
overall G' more negative.
17. Oxidation of fatty acids
The  oxidation of fatty acids begins with this activation reaction:
R–CH2–CH2–CH2–COOH + ATP + CoA–SH
R–CH2–CH2–CH2–CO–S–CoA + AMP + PPi
What are the next two steps (after transport into the mitochondria)? Show structures and indicate
where any cofactors participate.
Ans: The reactions are those catalyzed by fatty acyl–CoA dehydrogenase and enoyl hydratase. See
Fig. 17-8a, p. 653.
18. Oxidation of fatty acids
One of the steps in fatty acid oxidation in mitochondria involves the addition of water across a double
bond. What is the next step in the process? Show structures and indicate where any cofactor(s)
participate(s).
Ans: The reaction is that catalyzed by -hydroxyacyl-CoA dehydrogenase, for which NAD+ is
cofactor. See Fig. 17-8a, p. 653.
19. Oxidation of fatty acids
For each two-carbon increase in the length of a saturated fatty acid chain, how many additional moles
of ATP can be formed upon complete oxidation of one mole of the fatty acid to CO2 and H2O?
Ans: Each —CH2—CH2— unit yields 14 extra ATP molecules. The two oxidations of the oxidation pathway produce 1 FADH2 and 1 NADH, which yield 1.5 and 2.5 ATP, respectively, by
oxidative phosphorylation. The extra acetyl-CoA, when oxidized via the citric acid cycle, yields
another 10 ATP equivalents: 3 NADH, 1 FADH2, and 1 ATP or GTP.
20. Oxidation of fatty acids
An experimenter studying the oxidation of fatty acids in extracts of liver found that when palmitate
(16:0) was provided as substrate, it was completely oxidized to CO2. However, when undecanoic
acid (11:0) was added as substrate, incomplete oxidation occurred unless he bubbled CO2 through the
reaction mixture. The addition of the protein avidin, which binds tightly to biotin, prevented the
complete oxidation of undecanoic acid even in the presence of CO2, although it had no effect on
palmitate oxidation. Explain these observations in light of what you know of fatty acid oxidation
reactions.
Ans: Oxidation of odd-chain fatty acid yields acetyl-CoA + propionyl-CoA. The reaction CO2 +
propionyl-CoA  methylmalonyl-CoA is catalyzed by propionyl-CoA carboxylase, a biotincontaining enzyme, which is therefore inhibited by avidin.