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Many different things cannot pass through, including sugars, salts and proteins. However, oxygen, water and carbon dioxide can simply diffuse across the membrane.

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Why would a substance not be able to pass through a membrane by diffusion?

Water cannot diffuse a plasma membrane because of the fact that the phosphate heads of the phospholipids are hydrophilic, the hydrocarbon tails of the phospholipids are hydrophobic, meaning they repel water. The bilayer phospholipid model of the plasma membrane shows that the phophates face outward on either side of the membrane and the lipid tails are in the middle of the bilayer.


What does membrane - bound sacks means?

When substances are too large to pass through the cell membrane directly (they'd leave a gaping hole), they are enclosed in a lipid sac that is similar in composition to the cell membrane. Instead of punching through the membrane, the sac merges with it allowing the large substance to exit the cell without damaging the membrane.


What are the molecules in a plasma membrane that provide basic membrane structure cell identity and membrane fluidity?

Phospholipids are the main molecules in the plasma membrane that provide basic membrane structure. Glycolipids and glycoproteins contribute to cell identity through their unique carbohydrate chains. Cholesterol helps to maintain membrane fluidity by modulating the packing of phospholipids.


What part of the plasma membrane is hydrophilic?

The plasma membrane is a dynamic structure. It is composed of 2 layers of lipid material with protein molecules interspersed through out. The phospholipids move at a rate of 2um. /sec. while the proteins move at a much slower rate. The phospholipids have 2 definite ends, a hydrophilic (focusing to the outside and inside of the membrane) and a hydrophobic one (forming the center of the membrane


How does lipid solubility affect the ability of substances entering a cell?

Lipid-soluble substances can easily pass through the cell membrane due to the presence of phospholipids that make up the membrane. These substances can dissolve in the lipid bilayer and diffuse through it, allowing them to enter the cell more readily. In contrast, substances that are not lipid-soluble may require specific transport mechanisms to facilitate their entry into the cell.

Related Questions

What inorganic substance aids in the diffusion of gases through a cellular membrane?

Inorganic substances such as phospholipids aid in the diffusion of gases through cellular membranes. Phospholipids make up the structure of cell membranes, providing a barrier that allows selective permeability of gases like oxygen and carbon dioxide. These phospholipids have a hydrophobic tail and a hydrophilic head, creating a bilayer that facilitates the diffusion of gases across the membrane.


Which substance did not diffused through the membrane?

starch doesnt diffuse through the dialysis membrane.


Why would a substance not be able to pass through a membrane by diffusion?

Water cannot diffuse a plasma membrane because of the fact that the phosphate heads of the phospholipids are hydrophilic, the hydrocarbon tails of the phospholipids are hydrophobic, meaning they repel water. The bilayer phospholipid model of the plasma membrane shows that the phophates face outward on either side of the membrane and the lipid tails are in the middle of the bilayer.


What does membrane - bound sacks means?

When substances are too large to pass through the cell membrane directly (they'd leave a gaping hole), they are enclosed in a lipid sac that is similar in composition to the cell membrane. Instead of punching through the membrane, the sac merges with it allowing the large substance to exit the cell without damaging the membrane.


Lipid-soluble materials enter and exit the cell via?

Phospholipids permit lipid-soluble materials to easily enter or leave the cell by diffusion through the cell membrane. Phospholipids form a bilayer or double layer which makes up most of the membrane.


How would a non polar molecule such as a fat or oil travel through the plasma membrane?

The inside of a membrane is "hydrophobic" because of the hydrophobic fatty acid tails of the phospholipids.


Osmosis is the diffusion of what substance through a cell membrane?

Water


What substance can pass through a capillary membrane?

plasma protein


What is the process by which a substance is released from the cell through a vesicles that fuses with the membrane to let the substance out?

Exocytosis


What substance can be easily diffused through the membrane around an egg?

Oxygen.


What is used to move a substance through a membrane in active transport?

Electrochemical gradient is used to move substances through a membrane in active transport.


What are the molecules in a plasma membrane that provide basic membrane structure cell identity and membrane fluidity?

Phospholipids are the main molecules in the plasma membrane that provide basic membrane structure. Glycolipids and glycoproteins contribute to cell identity through their unique carbohydrate chains. Cholesterol helps to maintain membrane fluidity by modulating the packing of phospholipids.