A phospholipid molecule is described as amphipathic because it has
- A. two hydrophobic ends
- B. a hydrophilic head and hydrophobic tails
- C. two hydrophilic ends
- D. no charged groups at all
Explanation
The phosphate head is charged and interacts with water, while the two fatty acid tails are non-polar and are excluded from it. Placed in water, the molecules therefore arrange themselves into a bilayer with the tails facing inward, which is the basis of every cell membrane. A molecule with only one kind of end could not form that structure.
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