Section 2: The Plasma Membrane
The plasma membrane helps to maintain a cell’s homeostasis.
Plasma membrane
Objective:
Explain cell’s plasma membrane function and structure.
Success criteria: Students will be able to
Define homeostasis
Summarize the function and structure of plasma
membrane.
Essential Questions
How does a cell’s plasma membrane
function?
What are the roles of proteins,
carbohydrates, and cholesterol in the plasma
membrane?
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The process of maintaining balance in
an organism’s internal environment is
called homeostasis.
One of the structures responsible
for homeostasis is the plasma
membrane.
• The plasma membrane forms a thin,
flexible boundary between a cell and its
watery environment.
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Function of the Plasma Membrane
Plasma membranes have selective permeability properties
They allow some substances to pass through while keeping
others out.
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Structure of the Plasma
Membrane
[Link] phospholipid bilayer
2- proteins
[Link]
[Link]
[Link] phospholipid bilayer
A phospholipid is made up of:
1-Phosphate head
2- Glycerol backbone
3-Two fatty acids tails
The plasma membrane is made up of two layers of
phospholipids arranged tail-to-tail in what is called a
phospholipid bilayer.
The phospholipid bilayer has:
Polar heads ( phosphate group) (hydrophilic) facing
outside.
Nonpolar tails (fatty acids )(Hydrophobic) facing inside
the cell, allowing the membrane to keep the internal and
external environments separate.
Lipids(Fatty acids)
make up most of the molecules in the plasma
membrane
How does the phospholipid bilayer function?
The phospholipid bilayer forms a barrier that is polar on
the surface and nonpolar in the middle.
Substances that can dissolve in water will not pass
easily through the plasma membrane because they are
stopped by the nonpolar middle.
This allows the plasma membrane to separate the
environment inside the cell from the environment
outside the cell.
Phospholipid Sandwich
The two layers of phospholipid molecules resemble a
sandwich, With the fatty acid tails inside and the
phosphate heads outside.
During passive Diffusion, a molecule simply
dissolves in the phospholipid Bilayer , diffuses and
across it
2- proteins
a. Receptor proteins transmit signals to the inside of the cell.
b. Support Protein structures for the membrane.(Inside the P.M to
anchor the plasma membrane)
c. Transport proteins create tunnels through the plasma membrane
that move needed substances and wastes through the membrane.
Transport proteins contribute to the selective permeability of the
plasma membrane.
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[Link]
A. prevents the fatty acid tails of
the phospholipid bilayer from
sticking together.
B. keeping the plasma
membrane fluid.
Explain what effect more cholesterol
in the plasma membrane will have
on the membrane.
Increasing the level of cholesterol in
the membrane would make the
membrane more fluid.
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[Link]
Carbohydrates and proteins might stick out from the
plasma membrane.
They help the cell identify chemical signals from the environment.
For example, carbohydrates in the plasma membrane might help
disease-fighting cells identify and attack a potentially harmful cell.
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What is the fluid mosaic model?
The fluid mosaic model describes the phospholipids in the
bilayer as a “sea” in which other components can float and
move around.
Fluidity of the membrane can affect the diffusion of
proteins and other bio-molecules within the membrane,
there-by affecting the functions of these things.
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MAINIDEA Describe how the plasma membrane helps maintain homeostasis in a cell.
It controls the substances that enter and exit the cell.
Explain how the inside of a cell remains separate from its environment.
The phospholipid bilayer forming the plasma membrane provides a barrier from the
environment around the cell.
Diagram the plasma membrane and label each component.
Diagrams should include the correct orientation of the phospholipids, proteins, carbohydrates,
and cholesterol in the membrane.
Identify the molecules in the plasma membrane that provide basic membrane structure, cell
identity, and membrane fluidity.
basic membrane structure: phospholipids; cell identity: proteins and carbohydrates;
membrane fluidity: cholesterol
Explain what effect more cholesterol in the plasma membrane will have on the membrane.
Increasing the level of cholesterol in the membrane would make the membrane more fluid.
Review
Essential Questions
How does a cell’s plasma membrane function?
What are the roles of proteins, carbohydrates, and cholesterol in the plasma
membrane?
Vocabulary
• selective permeability • transport protein
• phospholipid bilayer • fluid mosaic model
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