UNIT 2 - B 2.1 - Cell Membranes Flashcards
What are two ways scientists gathered evidence to find the model of a cell membrane?
Through using electron microscopes and studying cell/their actions in various environments
What is the model of the cell membrane called?
The fluid mosaic model
What is the “backbone” of the membrane?
the phospholipid bilayer
What is each phospholipid composed of?
1 glycerol (3 carbons) 2 fatty acids and a highly polar alcohol attached to a phosphate group
Why are fatty acids not soluble in water?
Because they are non-polar
Why are phospholipids amphipathic?
Because their fatty acid tails are hydrophobic but the alcohol with the phosphate group is hydrophilic
Why is the membrane typically fluid/flexible?
Because the fatty acid tails don’t attract each other strongly
What maintains the overall structure of the membrane?
The relationship between the membrane’s chemical makeup and the chemical properties of water
Why would hydrophilic molecules, even small ones, find it hard to move through the membrane?
Because of the hydrophobic region in the middle of the bilayer
What is diffusion?
A type of transportation where particles move from a region of higher concentration to a region of lower concentration
What is an example of diffusion through cell membranes?
Oxygen has a higher concentration on the outside so it diffuses into the cell while carbon dioxide has a higher concentration inside the cell so it diffuses to the outside (respiration)
Where are proteins embedded in the membrane?
in the fluid matrix of the phospholipid bilayer
What are the two main types of proteins in the membrane?
integral proteins and peripheral porteins
Which type of membrane proteins shows an amphipathic character?
integral proteins
Where are peripheral proteins located?
on the surface of the membrane, both inner and outer
What are peripheral proteins often anchored to?
integral proteins
What are the types of proteins typically present in a cell membrane?
Hormone-binding, enzymatic, cell adhesion, cell-to-cell communication, channel forming, and pumps for active transport
What are hormone-binding proteins used for?
They have specific shapes to fit specific hormones which attach to the protein, then the protein changes shape resulting in a message being sent into the cell
What are enzymatic proteins used for?
they are grouped together so that a sequence of metabolic reactions (metabolic pathway) is catalysed
What are cell adhesion proteins used for?
They allow temporary or permanent connections (junctions) between cells
What are the two types of junctions?
gap junctions and tight junctions
What allows cell-to-cell communication proteins to distinguish between self and non-self material?
They have carbohydrate molecules attached which provides an identification label allowing for organisms to make these distinguishments
What do channel forming proteins do?
they span the membrane, providing passageways for substances to be transported through
What is involved in proteins acting as pumps for active transport?
the proteins shuttle a substance from one side of the membrane to the other by changing shape and they use energy in the form of ATP
What are the two general types of cellular transport?
passive transport and active transport
What is the main difference between active transport and passive transport?
active transport requires energy in the form of ATP but passive transport does not
When is passive transport taking place?
when a substance moves from a high concentration to a low concentration (down the concentration gradient)
Where does the source of energy for passive transport come from?
the kinetic energy of the molecules
Why must energy be used in active transport?
Because the substance is usually moving against the concentration gradient
What is an example of passive transport other than diffusion?
osmosis
What does osmosis involve the movement of?
Water across a partially permeable membrane
What is the concentration gradient allowing for osmosis a result of?
a difference in solute concentrations on either side of the membrane
A hypotonic solution has a lower concentration than what kind of solution?
hypertonic solution
Which direction does water move from?
Hypotonic to hypertonic
Why wouldn’t osmosis occur?
if isotonic solutions occur on either side of a partially permeable membrane
What are aquaporins?
protein channels which allow water molecules to pass through them
What is facilited diffusion?
a type of diffusion involving integral proteins
Which two types of proteins are involved in facilitated diffusion?
carrier proteins and channel proteins
How do carrier proteins transport substances from one side of the membrane to the other?
by changing shape
Which direction(s) can carrier proteins transport substances?
with the concentration gradient (facilitated diffusion) or against the concentration gradient (active transport)
What kinds of molecules can carrier proteins carry?
both water-soluble and insoluble molecules
How are channel proteins different from carrier proteins?
they have pores through which molecules of the right size and charge can pass
What allows channel proteins’ gates to open and close?
chemical or mechanical signals
What molecules can channel proteins carry?
Only water-soluble molecules
What allows cell membranes to be selectively permeable?
the presence of channel proteins and carrier proteins
What do the factors which facilitate diffusion depend on?
the concentration difference across the membrane, the number of carrier proteins actively involved in transport, and the number of channel proteins open
What does the transportation of molecules against a concentration gradient allow the cell to do?
to maintain interior concentrations of molecules that are different from exterior concentrations
How can active transport take place?
because of the highly selective proteins in the membrane that bind with the substance to be transported
What is an example of an active transport?
the sodium-potassium pump
What are sodium-potassium pumps especially important for?
neurons so that animals can respond to stimuli
What are the two major factors in how easily a substance can move passively across a membrane?
size and charge
What sort of substances will move across a membrane easily?
small and non-polar substances
What sort of substances do not move across a membrane easily?
polar or large or substances that are both
What are examples of substances that move easily across a membrane?
oxygen, carbon dioxide and nitrogen
What are examples of substances that have a hard time moving across a membrane?
chloride ions, potassium ions, sodium ions (due to charges), glucose, and sucrose (due to large size)
Why is the cell membrane selectively permeable to large, charged molecules?
Because they must travel through integral proteins
What are glycolipids in the cell membrane?
when a membrane phospholipids has a carbohydrate chain attached to it
What are glycoproteins in the cell membrane?
cell membrane proteins that have carbogydrate chains attached to them
Which side of the cell are carbohydrate chains found only?
the exterior, extracellular side
What are glycolipids and glycoproteins important for?
cell identification and cell adhesion