Lipids are composed of which elements?

• A. C, H, N
• B. C, H, P
• C. C, H, O
• D. C, H, S

Answer: (C)

Lipids are mainly built from carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen. Their long nonpolar hydrocarbon chains provide the bulk of the molecule, while oxygen appears in ester bonds and any hydroxyl groups, which are common in triglycerides and other lipids. This combination—primarily C, H, and O—captures the essential makeup of most lipids. Some lipids do include phosphorus or nitrogen in specific classes (like phospholipids with phosphate or certain sphingolipids with amino groups), but those elements are not universal to all lipids. So the elements lipids are typically composed of are carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen.