Question

Give the effect on the melting point of the presence of a cis double bond in a fatty acid.

Answer 1

Answer:

The cis double bond present in unsaturated fatty acids acids results in lower melting point when compared to saturated fatty acids of the same chain length.

Explanation:

Melting point of a fatty acids are affected by the length and degree of unsaturation of the hydrocarbon chain.

At room temperature, saturated fatty acids with hydrocarbon chain lengths between 12-24 are waxy solids whereas unsaturated atty acids of the same chain length are liquids. This is due to the nature of the packing of the fatty acid molecules in the saturated and unsaturated compounds.

In the saturated compounds, the molecules are tightly packed side by side with minimal steric hindrance and maximal van der Waals forces of attraction between molecules. However, in unsaturated fatty acids, the cis double bond introduces a bend or kink in the molecules which then interferes with the tight packing of the molecules and reducing interaction between molecules. Therefore, less energy is required to cause a disorder in the arrangement of unsaturated fatty acids, leading to a lowering of melting point.