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AP Biology Structure and Function of Plasma Membranes — practice questions

Explore 32 free Structure and Function of Plasma Membranes questions in AP Biology Biology. Open each question or exercise to read its content, reference answers and available explanation.

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Structure and Function of Plasma Membranes questions and exercises with answers

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The accepted model of plasma membrane structure proposed by Singer and Nicolson is called the:Read the answer and worked solution →The main fabric of the plasma membrane is built from:Read the answer and worked solution →A phospholipid molecule is built on a backbone of:Read the answer and worked solution →Plasma membranes are described as selectively permeable, which means they:Read the answer and worked solution →When a cell sits in a hypotonic solution, water:Read the answer and worked solution →When a cell sits in a hypertonic solution, water:Read the answer and worked solution →The three terms used to compare a cell's osmolarity with its surroundings are hypotonic, hypertonic and:Read the answer and worked solution →The first widely accepted model of membrane structure, from 1935, was proposed by:Read the answer and worked solution →Compared with a plasma membrane, a human red blood cell is roughly:Read the answer and worked solution →Myelin, which insulates peripheral nerve axons, is unusual because it contains only:Read the answer and worked solution →The mitochondrial inner membrane is protein-rich, at:Read the answer and worked solution →The transmembrane segment of a single-pass integral membrane protein is typically:Read the answer and worked solution →Carbohydrates on the outer membrane surface matter to the immune system because they:Read the answer and worked solution →The state in which a substance has spread out so there is no net movement is called:Read the answer and worked solution →All else being equal, heavier molecules diffuse:Read the answer and worked solution →Raising the temperature of a system makes diffusion:Read the answer and worked solution →A large spherical cell is at risk because:Read the answer and worked solution →Channel proteins move molecules at what rate relative to carrier proteins?Read the answer and worked solution →Glucose appears in the urine when blood glucose is very high because:Read the answer and worked solution →A double bond between adjacent carbons in a fatty acid tail creates a bend of about:Read the answer and worked solution →Red blood cells are preferred for osmolarity studies because they:Read the answer and worked solution →A cloudy suspension of cells can have a lower osmolarity than a clear solution because osmolarity counts:Read the answer and worked solution →A very fine needle can pierce a plasma membrane without bursting the cell because the membrane:Read the answer and worked solution →HIV is hard to vaccinate against partly because its surface recognition sites:Read the answer and worked solution →Water in or water out?Read the answer and worked solution →Match each membrane term to its meaningRead the answer and worked solution →Which membrane holds more protein?Read the answer and worked solution →Complete the diffusion ruleRead the answer and worked solution →True or false: the plasma membraneRead the answer and worked solution →Order the membrane models by dateRead the answer and worked solution →

Worked practice questions

The accepted model of plasma membrane structure proposed by Singer and Nicolson is called the:

  1. Rigid lattice model
  2. Fluid mosaic model
  3. Railroad track model
  4. Double barrier model
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Correct answer: B. Fluid mosaic model

1. Several models of membrane structure were proposed during the twentieth century. 2. The one that survived describes a membrane whose parts drift within a two-dimensional sheet. 3. The explanation proposed by Singer and Nicolson is called the fluid mosaic model. 4. The railroad track description belongs to the earlier Davson and Danielli picture. _Source: OpenStax Biology for AP(R) Courses (CC BY 4.0), Ch 5 'Structure and Function of Plasma Membranes', sections 5.1-5.4_

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The main fabric of the plasma membrane is built from:

  1. Nucleic acids
  2. Polysaccharides
  3. Simple sugars
  4. Phospholipids
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Correct answer: D. Phospholipids

1. A membrane must keep watery fluid on one side apart from watery fluid on the other. 2. Only a molecule with both a water-loving and a water-fearing end can do that. 3. The main fabric of the membrane is composed of amphiphilic phospholipid molecules. 4. Proteins and carbohydrates are the second and third components, not the fabric itself. _Source: OpenStax Biology for AP(R) Courses (CC BY 4.0), Ch 5 'Structure and Function of Plasma Membranes', sections 5.1-5.4_

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A phospholipid molecule is built on a backbone of:

  1. Ribose
  2. Cysteine
  3. Pyruvate
  4. Glycerol
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Correct answer: D. Glycerol

1. Every phospholipid has the same underlying frame. 2. That frame carries three carbons. 3. A phospholipid molecule consists of a three-carbon glycerol backbone. 4. Two fatty acids attach at carbons 1 and 2, and a phosphate-containing group at the third. _Source: OpenStax Biology for AP(R) Courses (CC BY 4.0), Ch 5 'Structure and Function of Plasma Membranes', sections 5.1-5.4_

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