Cell Membrane and Transport: Learn how

transporters keep cells healthy

Question 1: Hacker: The cell membrane makes the cell a compartment separate from the
extracellular environment. What is the other main function of the cell membrane?
✓ Controlling the transport of substances in and out of the cell
– Provide a rigid structure that gives the cell shape
– Compartmentalizing organelles within the cell
– Facilitating the migration of the cell through the body

Question 2: Hacker: Due to the composition of the cell membrane, some molecules can cross the
membrane more easily than others. This is called relative permeability. Which type of molecule is
least able to cross the membrane without transporters? There is a poster in this room that will help
you, or you can click View Image in the LabPad.
✓ Ions
– Small uncharged polar molecule
– Large uncharged polar molecules
– Small hydrophobic molecules

Question 3: Nice job! As you can see an aquaporin has now appeared in the cell membrane. Which
types of molecules are transported by aquaporins?
✓ Water
– All of these molecules
– Charged molecules
– Bulky molecules

Question 4: These channel and carrier proteins mainly transport molecules passively. Active
transport, on the other hand, needs energy. Why does active transport require energy?
✓ It transports molecules against an electrochemical gradient
– It is faster than passive transport
– The transporters need to open wider because it transports bigger molecules
– It transports molecules that are repelled by the membrane

Question 5: Which of these options is not a mechanism to control the opening and closing of ion
channels?
✓ ATP binding (ATP gated)
– Distortion of the cell membrane (mechanically gated)
– Ligand binding (ligand gated)
– Changes in membrane potential (voltage gated)

Question 6: How does coupled transport allow a molecule to be transported against the
electrochemical gradient?
✓ A co-transported molecule travels down an electrochemical gradient in either direction
– It uses energy from light
– It uses energy from ATP
– Another molecule binds to one side of the transporter driving a conformational change

Question 7: Why do we need to label the membrane?

✓ To visualize the cell membrane using the fluorescent microscope
– To visualize the cargo molecules using the fluorescent microscope
– To visualize the transport proteins using the fluorescent microscope
– To check whether the synthetic cells have a membrane

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Question 8: Are the molecules able to cross the membrane?
✓ Yes, because there is green fluorescence in the cells
– No, because there is yellow fluorescence in the cells
– No, because there is red fluorescence in the cells
– Yes, because there is red fluorescence in the cells

Question 9: Certain scorpions produce a toxin that inhibit Na+sodium channel closing. Now that you
have identified the role of Na+ sodium channels in nerve cells, can you predict the effect of the
scorpion toxin on neuronal function? Remember that you can lower the LabPad to take another
look at the wall screen.
✓ Hyper-excitability: more Na+ sodium flows into the cell, causing neurons to fire more readily
– Hypo-excitability: more Na+ sodium flows into the cell, causing neurons not to fire as readily
– Na+ sodium is toxic to nerves
– Less Na+ sodium is pumped out of the cell, slowing down return to the resting state

Question 10: Hacker: Clearly the health of the cells has improved! Compared to the situation when
you entered the lab, how has adding the transporter proteins contributed to healthier cells?
✓ The cell membrane is now a selective barrier
– The cell now lets molecules through non-selectively
– The cell is now a separate compartment
– The cells now have different types of lipids

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