From: Matthew
Re: GAMSAT Biology – Lipids

It is essential that students are informed about lipids, as questions revolving around lipids commonly arise is gamsat biology section 3. This section of the gamsat contains 110 multiple choice questions, of which 40% are biology related. So there at 44 gamsat biology questions in the exam.

We will now cover a few points about lipids, which can also be found in our biology study guide – The Biology Bible.

GAMSAT Biology – Lipids

All lipids are insoluble in water and have a high proportion of non-polar C-H bonds.

Saturated lipids occur when all the internal carbon atoms in a fatty acid chain are bonded to at least two hydrogen atoms. Unsaturated lipids occur when a fatty acid has double (or triple) bonds between their internal carbon atoms.

Fig. 1 – Saturated and unsaturated fatty acids.

If a fatty acid has more than one double bond, it is termed polyunsaturated.

Most fats contain more than 40 carbon atoms. The fats produced by animals are mostly saturated, whereas plants mostly produce unsaturated fats.

Phospholipids are complex lipid molecules and are important as they form the core of all cell membranes in organisms. A phospholipid can be thought of as a triglyceride with a phosphate group replacing one of the fatty acids.

Fig. 2 – Structure of phospholipids.

The structure of glycerol should be memorised for the GAMSAT. It is a three carbon alcohol, and each carbon atom contains a hydroxyl group. Glycerol forms the backbone of phospholipid molecules.

Fig. 3 – Structure of glycerol.

Our team of gamsat veterans and professors have create an extensive gamsat biology study guide, which covers all gamsat biology topics to the required depth. This study guide also comes with gamsat-specific advice throughout and also video links to enhance learning for specific topics.

Click below to learn more about our gamsat biology study guide – The GAMSAT Bible.