LIFE SCIENCE

OBJECTIVE LIFE SCIENCE

CELL BIOLOGY

Question [CLICK ON ANY CHOICE TO KNOW THE RIGHT ANSWER]
Lipids cannot pass through the cell membrane because they are too large to fit through.
A
True
B
False
C
Either A or B
D
None of the above
Explanation: 

Detailed explanation-1: -Only materials that are relatively small and nonpolar can easily diffuse through the lipid bilayer. Large particles cannot fit in between the individual phospholipids that are packed together, and polar molecules are repelled by the hydrophobic/nonpolar lipids that line the inside of the bilayer.

Detailed explanation-2: -The structure of the lipid bilayer allows small, uncharged substances such as oxygen and carbon dioxide, and hydrophobic molecules such as lipids, to pass through the cell membrane, down their concentration gradient, by simple diffusion.

Detailed explanation-3: -Answer and Explanation: Large molecules, polar molecules, and ions, cannot easily pass through the cell membrane. Large molecules, such as glucose, amino acids, and proteins, are simply too big to fit through the phospholipid bilayer.

Detailed explanation-4: -Integral proteins are nestled into the phospholipid bilayer and stick out on either end. Integral proteins are helpful for transporting larger molecules, like glucose, across the cell membrane. They have regions, called “polar” and “nonpolar” regions, that correspond with the polarity of the phospholipid bilayer.

Detailed explanation-5: -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-).

There is 1 question to complete.