Ch5 Study Guide and Practice Questions

Key Concepts to grasp

General Function of the Plasma Membrane

Homeostasis
Compartmentalization
Phospholipids --- Important
Amphipathic Structure of Phospholipids
The Fluid Mosaic Model. How do me know that proteins and phospholipids move in the
plane of the membrane?
Factors that change membrane fluidity
Composition of Fatty Acid Tail
Cholesterol
Proteins in the plasma membrane
Integral (transmembrane versus peripheral proteins)
Gradients across the plasma membrane
Recognize molecules that can mostly easily cross the plasma membrane
Be able to use the terms – with and against the concentration gradient
Diffusion vs. active transport, which requires energy?
Primary vs. secondary active transport (Be able to describe the process of secondary
active transport!)
Osmosis --- movement of water across a semipermeable membrane
Direction of water molecule movement in relation to solute concentrations
Organelles --- ER (rough and smooth), Golgi apparatus, secretory vesicles, lysosomes (all a
part of the endomembrane system, more time was spent with these)
Chloroplast, Mitochondria (very general information)
Memorize where they are and their functions in the cell.
Sorting proteins in the cell --- important
Sorting with free ribsomsomes vs. sorting with ER ribosomes
Specific signals in protein to designate its destination in the cells or secretion.
Rough ER protein production (lumen vs. membrane)

Practice questions

Q1: When the temperature drops, the plasma membrane would become less fluid. In order
to keep its mobility high (or normal), the cell changes the composition of phospholipids of
the plasma membrane. Propose two possibilities.

Q2: In the photo-bleaching experiment, what would be a conclusion if the bleached area
stayed black (no green fluorescence)?
Q3: Which of the following molecules do not require a transport protein to cross the
plasma membrane? Choose all possible choices.

a) Steroid hormones
b) Glucose
c) Oxygen
d) Carbon dioxide
e) mRNA transcript

Q4: How can aquaporins help a red blood cell maintain shape in a changing aqueous
environment?

Q5: Some people will sprinkle table salt on slugs to kill them. Explain why it is an effective
way of killing slugs.

Q6: Cells that produce a lot of digestive enzymes, those found in the stomach, the small
intestine, and the pancreas, are enriched in rough endoplasmic reticulum and Golgi
apparatus. What is a possible reason for this observation?

Q7: Cells isolated from the stomach of the mouse secrete pepsin to help break down food in
the stomach. Under the guidance of Dr. T (a great professor here at OU), the students in
BIOS 1700 irradiated them with X-ray to create mutations. With a great deal of dedication
and patience, they finally created a cell line that fails to secret pepsin. Interestingly, these
cells have a high level of pepsin in the cytoplasm. What gene (or portion) is likely to be
mutated?