Question

A tea bag in a cup of hot water can be a simple model of a cell. Water moves into the tea bag and substances in the tea leaves move out through a thin layer of material. What does the thin material that holds the tea leaves represent?

A. The cytoplasm
B. The nucleus
C. The DNA
D. The cell membrane

Answer 1

The thin material of the tea bag in the analogy represents the cell membrane, which is a protective barrier allowing certain substances to enter and leave the cell.

Step-by-step explanation:

The thin material that holds tea leaves in a tea bag and allows water to move in while substances from the tea leaves move out is a great model to represent the cell membrane in a biological cell. The cell membrane is the protective barrier that surrounds a cell and serves both to protect the cell and to regulate which substances can enter and leave the cell, similar to the permeability of the tea bag's material. Just as the tea bag's material lets water in and tea out, the cell membrane controls the movement of substances into and out of the cell. Therefore, the correct answer is D. The cell membrane.