Fatty Acid Definition and Chemical Structure

In chemistry, there are a lot of terms that differentiate various compounds. You may come across the term fatty acid or monocarboxylic acid at some point in your science career. The definition of a fatty acid is an important term to know, as well as its aliases. Fatty Acid Definition: A fatty acid is a carboxylic acid with a long side chain of hydrocarbons. Most fatty acids contain an even number of carbon atoms in the hydrocarbon chain and follow the general molecular formula of CH3(CH2)xCOOH where x is the number of carbon atoms in the hydrocarbon chain. Also Known As: monocarboxylic acids