Contrary to legend, camels do not store water in their humps; these humps actually consist of large fat deposits. How can these fat deposits serve as source of water? Calculate the amount of water (in litres) that a camel can produce from 1.0 kg of fat. Assume for simplicity that the fat consists exclusively of tripalmitoylglycerol.

One molecule of tripalmitoylglycerol comprises three residues of palmitic acid combined with a glycerol molecule with the help of ester bonds. The molecular formula of tripalmitoylglycerol is C5H98O6. The beta-oxidation of palmitoyl CoA gives 23 water molecules. Thus, the beta-oxidation of tripalmitoylglycerol will generate 69 molecules of water.

The molecular weight of tripalmitoylglycerol is 807 g/mol. Thus, one kilogram of fat will have 1000 g/807 = 1.24 mole.

Now, the mass of water produced from 1.0 kg of fat will be, 1.24 mol of fat * 69 mol of water * 18.02 = 1541.8 g

The density of water is 1g/ml. So, the volume of water will be 1.541 L.