Question

Oils are liquids at room temperature since they contain higher percentage of:
(A) oleates
(B) palmitates
(C) stearates
(D) myristates

Answer 1

Hint: Any non-polar chemical substance which can be a viscous liquid at ambient temperature is known as oil. It is hydrophobic which means it does not mix with water, and lipophilic which means it can be mixed with other oils. Oils are salts or esters of fatty acids.

Complete Step by step solution:
Oils are substances which are commonly flammable and are surface active. They have high carbon and hydrogen content. Most of them are unsaturated lipids. The origin of oil may be animal, vegetable or petrochemical. They can be volatile or non-volatility.
Oils are used for many purposes like for food that is olive oil, for fuel that is heating oil, for medical purposes that is mineral oil, for lubrication that is motor oil and for the manufacture of many types of paints, plastics and other materials.
Oleate: It can be a salt of oleic acid as well as an ester of oleic acid. It is the first unsaturated fatty acid produced from the saturated fatty acids. It is made by the fatty acid synthase.
Palmitate: It can be a salt of palmitic acid as well as an ester of palmitic acid. It is also known as retinyl palmitate. It contains palmitic acid which is a sixteen-carbon saturated fatty acid. It is an antioxidant and also a vitamin A compound.
Stearate: It can be a salt of stearic acid as well as an ester of stearic acid. Stearic acid has a long chain of carbons, that is it contains eighteen carbons. It is a saturated monobasic acid. Stearates are beneficial for the pharmaceutical industry.
Myristate: It can be a salt of myristic acid as well as an ester of myristic acid. Myristic acid is a saturated fatty acid with a long chain of fourteen carbons.
Oils contain oleates because oleates are unsaturated fatty acids. Higher the unsaturation, lower the melting point. Due to this, they are liquid at room temperature. Palmitates, stearates and myristates are saturated fatty acids.
Therefore, the correct option is A.

Note:
There are two types of oils which are organic oils and mineral oils. Organic oil is extracted from organic materials like sunflower, coconut, soya bean, etc. Whereas mineral oil is extracted from crude oil.