Home › AP Biology › Biology › Biological Macromolecules › Phospholipids are described as amphipathic becau…
Phospholipids are described as amphipathic because a single molecule carries:
ATwo identical hydrophobic ends
BTwo identical hydrophilic ends
COnly a charged phosphate region
DBoth hydrophobic and hydrophilic parts
Answer & Solution
Correct answer: D. Both hydrophobic and hydrophilic parts
1. A phospholipid holds two fatty acid chains and one modified phosphate group.
2. The fatty acid chains are hydrophobic and cannot interact with water.
3. The phosphate-containing group is hydrophilic and does interact with water.
4. Carrying both kinds of region at once is what amphipathic means, and it is why phospholipids form membrane bilayers.
_Source: OpenStax Biology for AP(R) Courses (CC BY 4.0), Ch 3 'Biological Macromolecules', sections 3.1-3.5_
Related questions
In the sugar-phosphate backbone of a nucleic acid, the phosphate residue links:Denaturation is often reversible because the process leaves intact the protein's:In the alpha helix, a hydrogen bond forms between the carbonyl oxygen of one amino acid anSickle cell disease arises from a change in hemoglobin at:Nine of the twenty amino acids are called essential in humans because they:A fatty acid is named omega-3 when the:Termites can survive on wood because they:Cellulose and starch are both glucose polymers, yet humans digest only starch. The structu