What part of a phospholipid forms hydrophobic tails?

Understand the Problem

The question is asking about the components of a phospholipid that create the hydrophobic tails, which are important in the structure and function of cell membranes.

More Information

Phospholipids have a hydrophilic (water-attracting) head and hydrophobic (water-repelling) tails. These tails, formed from two fatty acids, arrange themselves away from water, helping to form cell membranes.

Tips

A common mistake is to assume that any part of the phospholipid other than the fatty acids (e.g., glycerol or phosphate group) forms the hydrophobic tails.

Sources

• Homework study - What part of a phospholipid forms hydrophobic tails - homework.study.com
• The Lipid Bilayer - Molecular Biology of the Cell - NCBI Bookshelf - ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
• The Cell Membrane - NAU.edu - .nau.edu