AP BIOLOGY

Detailed explanation-1: -Cell membranes serve as barriers and gatekeepers. They are semi-permeable, which means that some molecules can diffuse across the lipid bilayer but others cannot. Small hydrophobic molecules and gases like oxygen and carbon dioxide cross membranes rapidly.

Detailed explanation-2: -Small nonpolar molecules, such as O2 and CO2, are soluble in the lipid bilayer and therefore can readily cross cell membranes. Small uncharged polar molecules, such as H2O, also can diffuse through membranes, but larger uncharged polar molecules, such as glucose, cannot.

Detailed explanation-3: -Plasma membranes must allow certain substances to enter and leave a cell, while preventing harmful material from entering and essential material from leaving. In other words, plasma membranes are selectively permeable-they allow some substances through but not others.

Detailed explanation-4: -The cell membrane is a semi-permeable membrane that allows only selected molecular entities to pass through it. The ease with which a molecule can pass through the cell membrane is known as the permeability of the cell membrane. It also refers to the rate at which the passive diffusion occurs through the cell membrane.