Topic 9: The Plasma Membrane

Question 1

Describe the composition of the plasma membrane and explain why it is called the fluid mosaic model.

Answer 1

The plasma membrane is called the fluid mosaic model because its mosaic meaning it’s composed of many different parts. The main parts we can focus on are cholesterol, proteins, carbohydrates, and lipids.

The Fluidity usually comes from lipids. We have both saturated and unsaturated fatty acids. The saturated make the membrane more compact and the unsaturated make it more fluid.

Cholesterol helps reduce fluidity and by forming strong interactions with the lipids.