Question

Why do unsaturated fats remain liquid at room temperature?

Their rigid structure prevents their interaction with adjacent molecules to form a solid.

The glycerol in unsaturated fats keeps the fatty acids fluid and prevents formation of solid form.

Their structure causes kinks in their conformation, which prevents close packing into a solid form.

The glycerol in unsaturated fats causes kinks in its structure, which prevents it from forming a solid.

Answer 1

Unsaturated fats remain liquid at room temperature because their structure causes kinks in their conformation, which prevents close packing into a solid form.

Because unsaturated fats contain one or more than one double bonds containing unsaturated fatty acids. Due to presence of double bonds they have a kink like structure. So, they cannot pack themselves tightly ,densely and they cannot interact with adjacent molecules due to presence of kinks in their conformation. Basically, this kinks prevent them to pack closely. Moreover, unsaturated fatty acids have lower melting point compared to saturated chain. Due to this reasons, unsaturated fats remain liquid in room temperature.

In solid form, molecules need to pack themselves very tightly, closely. It can be possible only in saturated fatty acid chain structure because they have no double bonds as well as they have no kink like structure also and they have higher melting pont in room temperature. So, They form a solid crystal like structure in that temperature.

A Fat molecule contains three fatty acid chains which is connected with a three carbon containing glycerol backbone. These fatty acids may contain saturated or unsaturated fatty acids. In unsaturated fats, glycerol backbone attached with unsaturated fatty acids. Therefore, from these concept it can be understood that glycerol has no role to cause kinks in unsaturated fatty acids which prevents to form solid structure. And rigid structure cannot prevent their interactions with adjacent molecules also. So, remaining three statements are not correct.