In: Chemistry
Consider the following two molecules. One of the molecules is butter, the other is olive oil. Determine which is which based on the structures below. Explain your rational including properties and forces.
Butter
butter is a dairy product containing up to 80% butterfat (in
commercial products) which is solid when chilled and at room
temperature in some regions and liquid when warmed. It is made by
churning fresh or fermented cream or milk to separate the butterfat
from the buttermilk. It is generally used as a spread on plain or
toasted bread products and a condiment on cooked vegetables, as
well as in cooking, such as baking, sauce making, and pan frying.
Butter consists of butterfat, milk proteins and water, and in some
types, added salt. Butter may also be sold with added flavourings,
such as garlic butter.
Butter is a water-in-oil emulsion resulting from an inversion of
the cream; in a water-in-oil emulsion, the milk proteins are the
emulsifiers. Butter remains a solid when refrigerated, but softens
to a spreadable consistency at room temperature, and melts to a
thin liquid consistency at 32–35 °C (90–95 °F). The density of
butter is 911 g/L (0.950 lb per US pint).Commercial butter is about
80% butterfat and 15% water; traditionally made butter may have as
little as 65% fat and 30% water. Butterfat is a mixture of
triglyceride, a triester derived from glycerol and three of any of
several fatty acid groups.[9] Butter becomes rancid when these
chains break down into smaller components, like butyric acid and
diacetyl. The density of butter is 0.911 g/cm3 (0.527 oz/in3),
about the same as ice. It generally has a pale yellow color, but
varies from deep yellow to nearly white. Its unmodified color is
dependent on the animals' feed and genetics but is commonly
manipulated with food colorings in the commercial manufacturing
process, most commonly annatto or carotene.
olive oil
Olive oil is composed mainly of triacylglycerols (triglycerides
or fats) and contains small quantities of free fatty acids (FFA),
glycerol, phosphatides, pigments, flavor compounds, sterols, and
microscopic bits of olive. Triacylglycerols are the major energy
reserve for plants and animals. Chemically speaking, these are
molecules derived from the natural esterification of three fatty
acid molecules with a glycerol molecule. The glycerol molecule can
simplistically be seen as an "E-shaped" molecule, with the fatty
acids in turn resembling longish hydrocarbon chains, varying (in
the case of olive oil) from about 14 to 24 carbon atoms in
length.
live oil will harden at refrigerator temperatures - around 2-4°C.
Determining at what point to call the oil "frozen" is a matter of
semantics. The slow increase in hardening as the temperature is
lowered is in sharp contrast to a pure substance such as water that
switches from a liquid to solid phase at an exact temperature.
Olive oil is a complex mixture of oils and waxes. The heavier oils
and waxes will form needle-like crystals as the temperature is
lowered, then the other oils will start to settle out.