130k views
16 votes
Why do phospholipids form a bilayer in water?

2 Answers

14 votes

Answer:

When phospholipids are mixed with water, they spontaneously rearrange themselves to form the lowest free-energy configuration. This means that the hydrophobic regions find ways to remove themselves from water, while the hydrophilic regions interact with water. The resulting structure is called a lipid bilayer

Step-by-step explanation:

User Pdel
by
3.8k points
9 votes

Answer:

When phospholipids are mixed with water, they spontaneously rearrange themselves to form the lowest free-energy configuration. This means that the hydrophobic regions find ways to remove themselves from water, while the hydrophilic regions interact with water. The resulting structure is called a lipid bilayer.

User Ppearcy
by
3.5k points