THE CELL
STRUCTURE AND FUNCTION OF THE CELL
Question
[CLICK ON ANY CHOICE TO KNOW THE RIGHT ANSWER]
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True:They pass right through.
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False:They need a protein channel.
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Detailed explanation-1: -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-2: -Consequently, larger uncharged polar molecules such as glucose are unable to cross the plasma membrane by passive diffusion, as are charged molecules of any size (including small ions such as H+, Na+, K+, and Cl-).
Detailed explanation-3: -Glucose is transported across the cell membranes and tissue barriers by a sodium-independent glucose transporter (facilitated transport, GLUT proteins, and SLC2 genes), sodium-dependent glucose symporters (secondary active transport, SGLT proteins, and SLC5 genes), and glucose uniporter-SWEET protein ( SLC50 genes).
Detailed explanation-4: -Glucose cannot move across a cell membrane via simple diffusion because it is simple large and is directly rejected by the hydrophobic tails. Instead it passes across via facilitated diffusion which involves molecules moving through the membrane by passing through channel proteins.