47.1k views
0 votes
Why do phospholipids form a bilayer in water?

User Pablo CG
by
8.0k points

2 Answers

4 votes
When Phospholipds are mixed with water , they spontaneously rearrange themselves to form the lowest free- energy configuration. this means that the hydrophohobic regions find ways to remove themselves from water , while the hydrophilic regions interact with water. the resulting structure is called a lipid bilayer.
User Keyur Panchal
by
8.3k points
5 votes

Answer:

The fatty acid tails are cluster together to form the phospholipid bilayer.

Step-by-step explanation:

A phospholipid is an amphipathic molecule having a hydrophilic head and hydrophobic tail. Phospholipid consists of three components such as phosphate head, glycerol, and Fatty acid tails. The phosphate head is the water-loving side. It comes in contact with water. The fatty acid tail is a water-hating side. They cluster together and don't allow water to pass through them. Thus another phospholipid layer forms inside the cell forming a lipid bilayer. In the lipid bilayer, the middle layer is lipid tails while outer and inner are phosphate heads.

User Yuriy Vikulov
by
8.3k points