Question

Explain how carbohydrates and lipids are similar/different.

Answer 1

Answer: Carbohydrates and lipids are similar in the following ways:

1. They are both composed of carbon, hydrogen and oxygen.

2.  They both act as the main fuel and energy storage in the human body.

The difference between the two include the following:

1. Carbohydrate is soluble in water while lipid is not.

2. Lipids provide fat soluble vitamins, carbohydrate does not.

3. The energy content of lipid is four times more than that of carbohydrate.

4. Carbohydrate provides a ready source of energy while lipid does not.

5. Carbohydrate consist of carbon rings while the lipid is made up of hydrocarbon chains.