BISC 130 - Chapter 6: The Plasma Membrane

What is the term used to describe the model of the plasma membrane that highlights its diverse components?

Mosaic

What role do phospholipids play in the plasma membrane?

They form a bilayer.

How does cholesterol function within the plasma membrane?

It stabilizes the bilayer.

What is the main function of integral membrane proteins?

They anchor in the bilayer by interacting with hydrophobic lipids.

What do glycoproteins consist of?

They are a combination of proteins and carbohydrates.

What is passive transport?

The movement of materials that does not require any energy.

How do solutes move during diffusion?

They move from a high concentration to a lower concentration.

What does it mean that the plasma membrane is selectively permeable?

Some atoms or molecules can pass through it, while most cannot.

What are channel proteins?

Membrane proteins that allow substances to pass through their hollow, water-filled pores.

What is osmosis?

The movement of water through a semipermeable membrane from low solute concentration to high solute concentration.

What occurs in a hypotonic solution?

Water moves into the cell, leading it to swell or even burst.

What happens in a hypertonic solution?

Water moves out of the cell, causing it to shrivel.

What defines an isotonic solution?

The surrounding solution has the same amount of solutes as the inside of the cell, resulting in no net movement of water.

What is active transport?

The movement of materials that requires energy, moving substances against their concentration gradient.

What is bulk transport?

Active transport of large structures or quantities.

What is endocytosis?

The process in which cells take in large quantities of materials in vesicles or vacuoles

What distinguishes phagocytosis from pinocytosis?

Phagocytosis is when cells take in large structures and molecules, while pinocytosis is for many small particles such as water.

What is exocytosis?

A type of active transport that moves substances outside the cell from vesicles.