4

MEMBRANE STRUCTURE AND F UNCTION

CHAPTER REVIEW
The sandwich model and its associated unit membrane model preceded the currently accepted fluid-mosaic model of membrane structure. According to the fluid-mosaic model, phospholipid molecules provide a fluid, lipid bilayer with their polar heads at the membrane surfaces. Hydrophobic portions of protein molecules are in the lipid bilayer; their hydrophilic portions are at the surfaces. The proteins form channels and function as receptors, enzymes, and carrier molecules. Molecules move across a membrane in several ways. By diffusion, molecules move down their concentration gradient. Osmosis is the diffusion of water through a differentially permeable membrane. When cells are in a hypotonic solution, they gain water; when they are in a hypertonic solution, they lose water. In isotonic solutions, cells neither gain nor lose water. Both diffusion and osmosis are passive processes that do not require energy. Facilitated transport is also passive and involves carrier molecules moving substances from higher to lower concentrations. Active transport moves substances in the opposite direction, with the function of a carrier molecule and energy. Larger substances pass through cells by endocytosis and exocytosis. An extracellular matrix is a meshwork of insoluble proteins and carbohydrates that is now known to influence animal cell differentiation and cellular metabolism. Plant cells are bounded by a cell wall that is external to the plasma membrane. This boundary is freely permeable. Several types of junctions exist between animal cells: desmosomes, gap junctions, and tight junctions. Between plant cells, plasmodesmata perform this function.

S T U DY E X E R C I S E S
Study the text section by section as you answer the questions that follow.

4.1 PLASMA MEMBRANE STRUCTURE

AND

FUNCTION (P . 68)

The plasma membrane regulates the passage of molecules into and out of the cell. The membrane contains lipids and proteins. Each protein has a specific function. 1. Label this diagram of the plasma membrane with the following terms: carbohydrate chain cholesterol b. cytoskeleton filaments glycolipid a. glycoprotein phospholipid bilayer protein molecule

c.

d. e.

g. f.

30

2. The two components of the fluid-mosaic model of membrane structure are and 3.
b. ______________. a. ______________

a. ______________

form a bilayer, in which the

b. ______________

heads are at the surfaces of the membranes, the membranes permeability.

and the lipid

c. ______________

tails face each other, making up the interior of the membrane. The
e. ______________

d. ______________,

which is also in the membrane,

a. ______________

4. Complete the sentences, using the terms hydrophilic and/or hydrophobic: Transmembrane proteins are found within the plasma membrane.
b. ______________

regions are embedded within the membrane,

and regions project from both surfaces of the bilayer. 5. Both glycolipids and glycoproteins have a(n) a. ______________ chain and are active in cell to
b. ______________

recognition.

6. Label the diagrams of proteins found in the membrane and state a function on the lines provided: carrier protein cell recognition protein channel protein enzymatic protein receptor protein

a. ______________ ________________

b. ______________ ________________

c. ______________ ________________

d. _______________ _________________

e. _______________ _________________

31

4.2 THE PERMEABILITY

OF THE

PLASMA MEMBRANE (P . 72)

Some substances, particularly small, noncharged molecules, pass freely across the plasma membrane. Ions and other types of molecules need assistance to cross the membrane. 7. In the following diagram, assume that glucose and water can cross the membrane and that protein cannot.

Will the amount of water on side A stay the same, or increase or decrease with time? Will glucose cross the membrane toward side A or toward side B?
c. ______________ d.

a. ______________ b. ______________

Will the amount of protein on side A stay the same, or increase or decrease with time? What will happen to the level of solution on each side of the membrane?

_______________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

4.3 DIFFUSION

AND

OSMOSIS (P . 73)

Molecules spontaneously diffuse (Move from an area of higher concentration to an area of lower concentration), and some can diffuse across a plasma membrane. Water diffuses across the plasma membrane, and this can affect cell size and shape. 8. Label each of the following as diffusion (D) or osmosis (O): a. Algae in a pond become dehydrated. b. A hypertonic solution draws water out of a cell. c. A red blood cell bursts in a test tube. d. Dye crystals spread out in a beaker of water. e. Gases move across the plasma membrane. f. Perfume is sensed from the other side of a room. 9. Complete this diagram to describe the effect of tonicity on red blood cells.

32

10. Complete this diagram to describe the effect of tonicity on plant cells.

11. If a solution is 8% solute, it is

a. _____________%

solvent.
c. ______________

If a solution is 99.5% solvent, it is b. __________% solute. If solution A is 2% solute and solution B is 3% solute, then solution A is is
d.______________ to solution A. e. ______________.

to solution B which

Compared to solution A, a solution with 2% solute is

4.4 TRANSPORT

BY

CARRIER PROTEINS (P . 76)

Carrier proteins assist the transport of some ions and molecules across the plasma membrane. 12. Label each of the following as describing facilitated transport (F) only, active (A) transport only, or both (F, A) processes: a. Uses a carrier molecule. b. Substances travel down a concentration gradient. c. Substances travel against a concentration gradient. d. Sodium-potassium pump. e. Energy is not required.

4.5 EXOCYTOSIS

AND

ENDOCYTOSIS (P . 78)

Vesicle formation takes other substances into the cell, and vesicle fusion with the plasma membrane discharges substances from the cell. 13. Label each of the following as describing exocytosis (Ex) or endocytosis (En): a. Vesicles formed by the Golgi apparatus fuse with the plasma membrane. b. Materials leave the cell. c. Phagocytosis is an example. d. Pinocytosis is an example. e. Occurs after receptors bind to a ligand.

33

CHAPTER TEST
OBJECTIVE QUESTIONS
Do not refer to the text when taking this test. In questions 17, match the following descriptions with each transport process: a. small particle or liquid intake into a cell b. requires vacuole formation c. carrier molecule, no energy d. carrier molecule, energy required e. water enters a hypertonic solution from a cell f. secretion from the cell g. dye molecules spread through water 1. active transport 2. diffusion 3. exocytosis 4. facilitated transport 5. osmosis 6. phagocytosis 7. pinocytosis 8. Proteins form the nonactive matrix of the plasma membrane. a. true b. false 9. Which type of molecule forms a bilayer within the plasma membrane? a. carbohydrate b. protein c. phospholipid d. nucleic acid 10. Hydrophilic ends of proteins are oriented toward membrane surfaces. a. true b. false 11. Lipid-soluble molecules pass through the plasma membrane by a. active transport. b. diffusing through it. c. facilitated transport. d. use of the sodium-potassium pump. 12. A 2% salt solution is ______________ to a 4% salt solution. a. hypertonic b. hypotonic c. isometric d. isotonic 13. Which molecule is directly required for operation of the sodium-potassium pump? a. ATP b. NAD + c. DNA d. water 14. In cells, which process moves materials opposite to the direction of the other three? a. endocytosis b. exocytosis c phagocytosis d. pinocytosis 15. Which of the following statements is not true about osmosis? a. A differentially permeable membrane must separate two solutions. b. One side of the membrane must have more water than the other side of the membrane. c. The membrane must permit water to pass. d. Over time, the side that initially had the larger concentration of solute will become even more concentrated. 16. A small lipid-soluble molecule passes easily through the plasma membrane. Which of these statements is the most likely explanation? a. A carrier protein must be at work. b. The plasma membrane is partially composed of lipid molecules. c. The cell is expending energy to do this. d. Phagocytosis has enclosed this molecule in a vacuole. 17. Which of these does NOT require an expenditure of energy? a. diffusion b. osmosis c. facilitated transport d. None of these require energy. 18. Which term refers to the bursting of an animal cell? a. plasmolysis b. crenation c. lysis d. turgor pressure 19. An animal cell always takes in water when placed in a(n) ______________ solution. a. hypertonic b. osmotic c. isotonic d. hypotonic 20. Which of the following is actively transported across plasma membranes? a. carbon dioxide b. oxygen c. water d. sodium ions

34

THOUGHT QUESTIONS
Answer in complete sentences. 21. Why is the plasma membrane considered so important to the cell?

22. What osmotic problem would plant cells experience if they lost their cell walls?

Test Results: ______ Number right 22 = ______ 100 = ______ %

ANSWER KEY
STUDY EXERCISES
1. a. glycoprotein b. carbohydrate chain c. glycolipid d. protein molecule e. phospholipid bilayer f. cytosketon filaments g. cholesterol 2. a. lipids b. proteins 3. a. Phospholipids b. hydrophilic (polar) c. hydrophobic d. cholesterol e. reduces 4. a. hydrophobic b. hydrophilic 5. a. carbohydrate b. cell 6. a. receptor protein, shaped in such a way that a specific molecule can bind to it. b. channel protein, allows molecules to pass across the plasma membrane. c. cell recognition protein, functions in cell to cell recognition. d. enzymatic protein, catalyzes a specific reaction. e. carrier protein, allows selective passage of molecules across the plasma membrane. 7. a increase b. stay the same c. toward side B d. side A e. Side A will rise, and side B will fall. 8. a. O b. O c. O d. D e. D f. D 9. a. cell is same size and shape b. Hypertonic Solution c. cell is bursting 10. a. Isotonic Solution b. Hypotonic Solution c. vacuole is much smaller 11. a. 92 b. 0.5 c. hypotonic d. hypertonic e. isotonic 12. a. F, A b. F c. A d. A e. F 13. a. Ex b. Ex c. En d. En e. En

CHAPTER TEST
1. d 2. g 3. f 4. c 5. e 6. b 7. a 8. b 9. c 10. a 11. b 12. b 13. a 14. b 15. d 16. b 17. d 18. c 19. d 20. d 21. The plasma membrane is very important because it is the outer living boundary of the cell; it provides for and regulates the passage of molecules into and out of the cell. 22. In a hypotonic environment, plant cells would continue to gain water until they burst.

35