asked 132k views
3 votes
How would the phospholipids organize themselves to form a cell membrane if the inside and outside of the cell consisted of a nonpolar solution?

asked
User Bazo
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7.8k points

1 Answer

6 votes

Answer options:

  • In a bilayer with the phospholipids alternating the orientation of the phosphate heads and tails in a regular pattern.
  • In a bilayer with the fatty acid tails on the outside in contact with the extracellular environment and cytoplasm and the phosphate heads sandwiched in between.
  • In a single layer with the phosphate heads in contact with the extracellular environment and the fatty acid tails in contact with the cytoplasm.
  • In a single layer with the fatty acid tails in contact with the extracellular environment and the phosphate heads in contact with the cytoplasm.

Answer:

  • In a bilayer with the fatty acid tails on the outside in contact with the extracellular environment and cytoplasm and the phosphate heads sandwiched in between.

Step-by-step explanation:

The phosphate heads are polar, and will therefore avoid the nonpolar solution on the inside and outside of the cell. Instead, they will huddle together and face towards each other.

The fatty acid tails are non-polar and are not repelled by this solution, so will face the outside.

Essentially, the orientation of the phospholipid bilayer would be flipped from its normal arrangement.

answered
User Ian Paschal
by
8.9k points
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