Do Synced Iphone Apps take up space in Macbook Pro Itunes?

[SneakersOToole]

I just got an iphone recently and I notice that all the apps I download onto my iphone are synced automatically to the Apps section of Itunes on my Macbook Pro. This is my question, are these apps actually being fully stored on my macbook or is it just the save data and record of purchase that's transfered?
I have some pretty big apps on my phone (Infinity Blade II, FIFA 12, NBA Jam) and I'm concerned that they're taking up several gigabytes of valuable space on my macbook.

If they are being stored in their entirety, is there a way I can move them off my computer and store them on an external hard drive for safe-keeping instead?

 

[Darth.Titan]

Yes the apps are stored in your iTunes library. You could put your iTunes library on an external though.

 

[gorskiegangsta]

Yes, all the apps - except iPhone's default apps - are stored in Macintosh HD/Users/<username>/Music/iTunes/iTunes Media/Mobile Applications