Final answer:
The false statement regarding the fatty acid tails of phospholipids is (a) suggesting that fluidity is due to fewer hydrogen bonds in unsaturated tails. Fluidity is actually due to the kink caused by double bonds in unsaturated fatty acid tails that prevent tight packing.
The statement in question that is FALSE is (a): "Phospholipids with unsaturated tails make the bilayer more fluid because the tails contain fewer hydrogen atoms and thus form fewer hydrogen bonds with each other."
Step-by-step explanation:
The question concerns the characteristics of phospholipid bilayer membranes, specifically in relation to the fatty acid tails of phospholipids. The statement in question that is FALSE is (a): "Phospholipids with unsaturated tails make the bilayer more fluid because the tails contain fewer hydrogen atoms and thus form fewer hydrogen bonds with each other." This statement is misleading because the increase in fluidity is not due to a decrease in hydrogen bonding but rather the presence of kinks or bends in the unsaturated fatty acid tails caused by double bonds. These kinks prevent the phospholipid tails from packing tightly together, thus enhancing fluidity.
The TRUE statements are: (b) Saturated phospholipid tails pack more tightly against each other than do unsaturated tails, which is because saturated tails are straighter without the kinks caused by double bonds. (c) Most membrane phospholipids have one fully saturated tail. (d) Phospholipid tails in a membrane can interact with each other via van der Waals interactions, specifically London dispersion forces. (e) Fatty acid tails vary in length, which also contributes to the diversity of membrane fluidity.
The statement in question that is FALSE is (a): "Phospholipids with unsaturated tails make the bilayer more fluid because the tails contain fewer hydrogen atoms and thus form fewer hydrogen bonds with each other."