Question

the different parts of a phospholipid molecule have different properties. the phosphate head, which contains phosphorus and nitrogen atoms, is polar and dissolves in water. substances that mix with water are called hydrophilic, or water - loving. the fatty acid tails are nonpolar. nonpolar molecules do not mix with water. so the nonpolar tails in a phospholipid are hydrophobic, or water - fearing. molecules that have both a hydrophilic and a hydrophobic region are called amphipathic. the model shows a simplified representation of a phospholipid and its chemical structure. (the simplified representation does not show glycerol.) complete the sentence. a phospholipid is amphipathic because its phosphate head is
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and
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, while its fatty acid tails are
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and
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.

Explanation:

From the text: The phosphate head "contains phosphorus and nitrogen atoms, is polar and dissolves in water. Substances that mix with water are called hydrophilic". The fatty acid tails "are nonpolar. Nonpolar molecules do not mix with water. So the nonpolar tails... are hydrophobic". So we fill in the blanks using this information.

Answer:

A phospholipid is amphipathic because its phosphate head is \(\boldsymbol{\text{polar}}\) and \(\boldsymbol{\text{hydrophilic}}\), while its fatty acid tails are \(\boldsymbol{\text{nonpolar}}\) and \(\boldsymbol{\text{hydrophobic}}\).