Movement of substances

3 across cell membrane

3.1 Structure of the cell membrane

1 The fluid mosaic model (流動鑲嵌模型) suggests that the cell membrane is mainly made up of
phospholipids (磷脂) and proteins:

protein molecules carbohydrate

molecule

outside of cell glycoprotein

(糖蛋白)

a cell

phospholipid
bilayer
(磷脂雙層)

inside of cell (cytoplasm)

2 Structure of the cell membrane:

Phospholipid - Arranged in a bilayer, with hydrophilic (親水的) heads pointing

molecules outwards and hydrophobic (疏水的) tails pointing inwards
- Can move laterally (橫向地)

Protein - Interspersed among the phospholipid molecules in a mosaic pattern

molecules - Some are attached to the surface of the phospholipid bilayer, some are
embedded half-way in the bilayer and others span the entire bilayer
- Carbohydrates are attached to some proteins to form glycoproteins

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3 Different types of membrane proteins and their functions:

Membrane proteins Functions

Channel proteins (通道蛋白) Provide channels for certain substances to move across the
cell membrane

Carrier proteins (載體蛋白) Bind to certain substances and transport them to the other side
of the cell membrane

Receptors (受體) Bind to chemical messengers (e.g. hormones) outside cells; the
binding may turn on certain activities in the cells

Antigens (抗原) Are glycoproteins for cell recognition (識別)

Enzymes (酶) Speed up chemical reactions

3.2 Relationship between the structure, properties and

functions of the cell membrane
1 Structure of the cell membrane and the relation to its properties and functions:

How the membrane structure is related to its

Structure of the cell membrane
properties and functions

- The cell membrane is mainly made - This makes the cell membrane differentially
up of phospholipids and proteins. permeable.
- The phospholipid molecules are - Only small, non-polar (非極性的) molecules can
arranged in a bilayer with a dissolve in and move across the phospholipid
hydrophobic core. bilayer.
- Some protein molecules act as - Small, polar (極性的) molecules and small ions
channels or carriers. are transported by channel proteins or carrier
proteins.

- The phospholipid molecules can - This makes the cell membrane fluid in nature.
move laterally. This allows the cell membrane to change shape
and fuse during phagocytosis (吞噬) and cell
division.

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2 Factors affecting the structure of the cell membrane and hence its permeability include
temperature and the presence of organic solvents:
- When temperature increases, the permeability of the cell membrane increases. Boiling
can even damage the membrane, causing it to become fully permeable.
- Organic solvents dissolve the phospholipids and damage the cell membrane, causing the
permeability of the membrane to increase.

3.3 Movement of substances across membranes

Diffusion
1 Diffusion (擴散) is the net movement of particles from a region of higher concentration to a
region of lower concentration (i.e. down the concentration gradient (濃度梯度)) until the
particles are evenly distributed.
2 Factors affecting the rate of diffusion:

Factors How it affects the rate of diffusion

Concentration The steeper the concentration gradient is, the higher the rate of
gradient diffusion.

Surface area The larger the surface area over which diffusion occurs, the higher
the rate of diffusion.

Distance The shorter the diffusion distance is, the higher the rate of diffusion.

Temperature The higher the temperature is, the higher the rate of diffusion.

Size of particles Smaller particles diffuse faster than large particles.

Nature of particles Non-polar substances usually diffuse faster than polar substances.

3 Importance of diffusion:
- It enables cells to exchange materials with the environment. Cells obtain useful materials
(e.g. oxygen and nutrients) and remove waste (e.g. carbon dioxide).
- It is involved in processes like absorption of nutrients in human small intestine and gas
exchange in human lungs.

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Osmosis
4 Osmosis (滲透) is the net movement of water molecules from a region of higher water
potential (水勢) to a region of lower water potential across a differentially permeable
membrane.
5 Pure water has the highest water potential, which is defined as zero. All solutions have a
water potential lower than that of pure water (i.e. a negative value). The higher the
concentration of the solution, the lower its water potential.
6 Hypotonic (低滲的) solution has a higher water potential as compared to the other solution.
Isotonic (等滲的) solution has the same water potential as the other solution.
Hypertonic (高滲的) solution has a lower water potential as compared to the other solution.
7 Changes in animal cells in solutions of different water potentials:

Surrounding Hypotonic solution Isotonic solution Hypertonic solution

solution

Net movement Into the cell No net movement Out of the cell
of water

Changes Swell and finally burst No change Shrink (萎縮) and become
(爆裂) wrinkled (皺褶)

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8 Changes in plant cells in solutions of different water potentials:

Surrounding Hypotonic solution Isotonic solution Hypertonic solution

solution

Net movement Into the cell No net movement Out of the cell
of water

Changes Become turgid (膨脹) No change Become flaccid (軟縮) and

plasmolysed (質壁分離) ;
vacuoles shrink

9 Importance of osmosis:
- It is the main mechanism by which water enters or leaves cells in all organisms.
- It allows the absorption of water in human intestines and plant roots.

Active transport
10 Active transport (主動轉運) is the movement of substances across the cell membrane from a
region of lower concentration to a region of higher concentration (i.e. against the
concentration gradient) using energy.
11 The process of active transport:
carrier protein

lower higher
concentration concentration
1 The particle binds to a carrier
protein.

2 The carrier protein changes its

shape using energy.

3 The particle is released on the

other side of the membrane.

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12 Importance of active transport:
- It allows the uptake of additional useful substances which are already high in
concentration in the cells.
- It is involved in the absorption of nutrients in the human small intestine and the
absorption of minerals from the soil into plant roots.

Phagocytosis
13 Phagocytosis (吞噬) is the uptake of large particles into cells by packaging the particles into
vacuoles formed from the cell membrane.
14 The process of phagocytosis:

1 Foot-like extensions of cytoplasm called

pseudopodia (偽足) are formed to
surround the particle to be taken in.

nucleus

particle to be 2 Cell membrane fuses to

taken in form a vacuole which
encloses the particle.
cell membrane
pseudopodium

digested
products

3 The vacuole is fused with

4 The digested some other vacuoles which
products are contain digestive enzymes.
absorbed into The particle is broken down
the cytoplasm. with the help of the enzymes.

digestive enzyme

15 Importance of phagocytosis:
- It allows some unicellular organisms to engulf food particles for nutrition.
- It allows certain white blood cells in humans to engulf harmful microorganisms for body
defense against diseases.

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16 Comparison of diffusion, osmosis, active transport and phagocytosis:

Process Active or passive? Energy needed?

Diffusion Passive No

Osmosis Passive No

Active transport Active Yes

Phagocytosis Active Yes

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