PART 2: DIFFUSION ACROSS MEMBRANES Due to the structure of the membrane, some mo
ID: 202610 • Letter: P
Question
PART 2: DIFFUSION ACROSS MEMBRANES Due to the structure of the membrane, some mole- cules will be able to pass freely through and some will not. This is the semi-permeable nature of cell mem- branes! Small, hydrophobic molecules can pass eas- ily through the membrane. Large and/or hydrophilic molecules cannot pass easily through the membrane. hydrophillic groups Plasma hydrophillic groups 1. In the figures below you can see a hydrophilic solute and a hydrophobic solute floating around in the water outside of the cell. Label the hydrophilic or hydrophobic molecule (how do you know?). 2. In the figure below on the left, the polar compound is making many hydrogen bonds with the neighboring water molecules (draw some in). These interactions are absent in the figure on the right. Based off of that observation, which compound will be more likely to travel through this membrane? Why? 2nExplanation / Answer
1) The solute on the left of the figure is hydophilic and other one on the right is hydrophobic. Hydrophilic solutes make hydrogen bonds with the water that is why they are called hydrophilic molecules while hydrohobic solutes tend to repel water. solute on the left is making bonds with water while solute on the right in the figure is repelling water.
2) Since small and hydrophobic molecules can pass through membrane, the compound on the right side is more likely to pass through membrane.
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