Fats and oils are both triglycerides, the large number of ( cis ) double bonds in the hydrocarbon tails of oils prevents them from interacting with each other as much as the (saturated ) tails of the fats. More interactions mean that the tails move more (slowly) becoming more like a (solid) forming a fat.
Explanation:
Fats have higher melting point compared with oil. Hence, fats are generally solid at room temperature. Due to presence of saturated fatty acids which interact with each other strongly and does not more much, fats are having higher melting point.
On the other hand, oils have unsaturated fatty acids with cis double bonds. Due to presence of cis double bonds the ordered structure gets disturbed reducing the interactions of fatty acid chains and making them more mobile. Therefore, oils have low melting points and they are generally liquid at room temperature.
Get Answers For Free
Most questions answered within 1 hours.