Lipids

What this page covers

This unit collects university-level material on lipids, from basic structure to the way lipids behave in membranes and in the body. Quizzes, mind maps, flashcard decks and a few notes sit side by side, so you can move between testing yourself and reading.

The topics run from fatty acids and triacylglycerols to complex lipids, steroids, eicosanoids and terpenes. A few resources go further, with one mind map on ether-linked archaeal lipids and another on the biosynthesis of taxanes.

Where to start

Begin with the quiz Lipid Structure. It asks about fatty acids, saturation and melting points, so it shows quickly whether the basics are secure. Then read the note Lipids: Lecture 3, which explains how lipids make up much of the plasma membrane and why non-polar tails cluster in water.

Next, open the flashcard deck Lecture 4- Lipids. Its questions cover polarity, solubility and how a triglyceride is built.

Using quizzes and maps together

1. Take a quiz first and note the questions you miss.
2. Find the matching mind map. For wrong answers about phospholipid headgroups, try Complex Lipids.
3. Go back to the quiz, or to a flashcard deck, to check the point has stuck.

The quiz Biochem Exam 1 Quiz 1 Ch 9 is useful for the true-or-false question on fluidity and the cis form of double bonds in unsaturated fatty acids.

Going further

Once structure feels comfortable, move to function. Cholesterol and Statins is a flashcard deck on where cholesterol is made, what it needs and the role of statins. The mind maps on lipoproteins and on cholesterol and steroid hormones follow naturally from there.

This unit belongs to the strand Structure and Function of Biomolecules, within Biochemistry. Teachers can pick out a deck or map to set alongside a lecture.

Choose one resource that matches what you are studying today, work through it, and then try making a map or deck of your own.