Ion Channel

Instructions: Students will be assigned a particular part to read. They will meet in small groups
with their classmates that have been assigned the same part. As a group, they will read the part
together and answer the questions that go with the assigned reading. Once all of the groups
have finished their part, they will be assigned a new group where there will be a person with a
different assigned reading in their group. The group will then go over and explain what their
specific part they read was about, and what their answers were that their group came up with.
By the end of this activity, each student should have answers to all of the questions below.

Lipid Bilayer
1. What are the two important regions in the lipid bilayer? Be specific and detailed.
Hydrophilic head and hydrophobic tail.
2. What is the most important property of the lipid bilayer?
Highly impermeable structure
3. Why is it important how the hydrophilic heads and hydrophobic tails are arranged
in the lipid bilayer?
To prevent polar solutes from across the membrane
4. What characteristic allows for substances to move in and out of the lipid bilayer?
Highly impermeable structure only allowing water and gases to move through freely
5. Explain how the setup of the lipid bilayer allows for particular molecules to move
freely through the membrane while others cannot.
The fluidity of the bilayer allows the structure to move within the bilayer.

Cell Membrane
1. What are the cellular processes that the biological molecules help the cell
undergo?
Cell adhesion, ion channel conductance lipids and cell signaling
2. What does protoplasm mean?
Everything inside a cell including cytoplasm and nucleus

Ion Channel
3. What are the four main functions of the cell membrane?
Holds the cell together, regulates homeostasis, anchoring the cytoskeleton to provide shape to
the cell, attaching to the extracellular matrix to help group cells together in the formation of
tissues
4. What are protein receptors?
Specific proteins embedded in the cell membrane can act as molecular signals that allow cells
to communicate with each other.

5. Explain how cells communicate with each other.

Protein receptors are transduced and passed in a different form into the cell

Diffusion/Facilitated Diffusion
1. What will the diffusion process eventually lead to?
The diffusion process eventually leads to the result of a complete mixing or state of equilibrium.
2. What are some processes that rely on diffusion?
Metabolism and respiration rely of diffusion like also including bulk or active processes.
3. What is the difference between diffusion and facilitated diffusion?
Molecular diffusion is the transport of cells from high to low concentrations by random molecular
motion. Facilitated diffusion is a process of diffusion which is also a form of passive transport
facilitated by transport proteins.

4. What are the two groups of integral membrane proteins? Explain them.
The two main groups of integral membrane proteins are Ion Channels and Carrier proteins. Ion
channels do not bind the solute but they are like hydrophilic pores and open and allow certain
types of solute in usually though it is inorganic ions. Carrier proteins bind a specific type of
solute and undergo a series of changes which carry the solutes to the other side of the
membrane.
5. Draw the two different types of membrane proteins.

Ion Channel

Carrier proteins

Osmosis
1. What is osmosis?
A special case of diffusion where spontaneous net movement of solvent molecules through a
semipermeable membrane into a region of higher solute concentration, in the direction that
tends to equalize the solute concentrations on the two sides.

2. Why can starch not pass through a cell membrane?

Molecule is too large, does not fit

3. In what direction, or concentration gradient, will water move?

Ion Channel
From an area of high solution to an area of low solution concentration

4. Draw and label correctly, a cell in a hypertonic, hypotonic and isotonic solution.

5. Explain the above drawings in detail. What direction is the water moving and why.
Hypertonic- Water moves out of the cell causing the cell to shrivel up
Hypotonic-Water moves inside of the cell causing the cell to burst
Isotonic- Water moves in and out equally, the cell stays the same size.
Active Transport/Bulk Transport

Active Transport/Bulk Transport

1. What is the problem with glucose molecules being absorbed by cells using
simple or facilitated diffusion?
Only about half of the molecules would be absorbed into the cell
2. What is the main difference between active transport using a carrier protein, and
passive transport using facilitated diffusion?
Facilitated diffusion does not require ATP but the carrier proteins do
3. Name four substances that require active transport using a pump.
Potassium, ions, vitamins, amino acids, and hydrogen ions

Ion Channel
4. What would happen to the cell membrane if a cell underwent much more
endocytosis, than exocytosis? Why?
If the cell underwent much more endocytosis than exocytosis than the cell would swell
tremendously and maybe even burst. This would happen because the cell would be taking in a
lot but not getting rid of enough it has to have a healthy balance of getting rid of and taking in.
5. Name and describe two types of endocytosis.
Phagocytosis and Pinocytosis. Phagocytosis eats and pinocytosis drinks.