Question 18.sp.3: Consider lauric acid, CH3(CH2)10CO2H. (a) How many molecules...

Consider lauric acid, CH_{3}(CH_{2})_{10}CO_{2}H. (a) How many molecules of acetyl CoA are formed from complete β-oxidation? (b) How many cycles of β-oxidation are needed for complete catabolism?
Analysis
The number of carbons in the fatty acid determines the number of molecules of acetyl CoA formed and the number of times β-oxidation occurs.
• The number of molecules of acetyl CoA equals one-half the number of carbons in the original fatty acid.
• Because the fi nal turn of the cycle forms two molecules of acetyl CoA, the number of cycles is one fewer than the number of acetyl CoA molecules formed.