What are esters of glycerol and fatty acids commonly referred to as?

Esters of glycerol and fatty acids are commonly referred to as fats. This is because the structure of fats is characterized by glycerol bonded to three fatty acid molecules, forming triglycerides. These triglycerides are the primary components of dietary fats and oils. When at room temperature, fats tend to be solid, while oils, which are also triglycerides but with higher proportions of unsaturated fatty acids, are typically liquid.

Additionally, fats play crucial roles in the body, including energy storage, insulation, and serving as building blocks for cell membranes. Understanding this terminology is vital in both the funeral service field, which can involve knowledge of constituents in embalming fluids, as well as in broader nutritional contexts.

Waxes, on the other hand, are also esters of fatty acids and long-chain alcohols, but they possess different structural characteristics and properties compared to fats. Oils, while technically fitting the ester classification with their own form of triglycerides, are differentiated by their liquid state at room temperature. Alcohols do not fit into this category as they do not consist of glycerol and fatty acids combined; they are an entirely different class of organic compounds. Thus, fats correctly describe the esterification of glycerol and fatty acids.