Question

Suppose a soap manufacturer starts with a triglyceride that has the fatty acid chains arachidic acid, palmitic acid and palmitic acid attached to the three backbone carbons. The manufacturer saponifies the triglyceride with NaOH. What are the fatty acid soaps that are produced in the process

Answer 1

Answer:

Sodium arachidate; Sodium palmitate and Sodium palmitate

Explanation:

Triglycerides are esters of fatty acids with glycerol. In triglycerides, three fatty acid molecules are linked by ester bonds to each of the three carbon atoms in a glycerol molecule. The fatty acids may be same or different fatty acid molecules. Hydrolysis of triglycerides yields the three fatty acid molecules and glycerol.

Saponification is the process by which a base is used to catalyst the hydrolysis of the ester bonds in glycerides. The products of this base-catalyzed hydrolysis of triglycerides are the metallic salts of the three fatty acids and glycerol. The salts of the fatty acids are known as soaps.

For a triglyceride that has the fatty acid chains arachidic acid, palmitic acid and palmitic acid attached to the three backbone carbons glycerol, the saponification of the triglyceride with NaOH will yield the sodium salts or soaps of the three fatty acids as well as glycerol.

Arachidic acid will react with NaOH to yield sodium arachidate.

The two palmitic acid molecules will each react with NaOH to yield sodium palmitate.