Question

Describe how the phospholipids of a plasma membrane regulate the movement of large or polar molecules across the membrane. Explain how osmosis will affect animal cells when the cells are placed into an environment with a low water potential (high solute concentration) compared to the intracellular water potential.

Answer 1

Answer:

The plasma membrane is selectively permeable. Integral membrane proteins enable ions and large polar molecules to pass through the membrane by passive or active transport.

Explanation:

Phospholipid plasma membrane is semipermeable, only hydrophobic molecules and small polar molecules can diffuse through the lipid layer, but ions and large polar molecules cannot.Large or polar molecules can diffuse across the membrane via Integral membrane proteins by active or passive transport mainly by facilitated diffusion.

Osmosis is the passive movement of water molecules from a region of lower solute concentration to a region of higher solute concentration.When the cells are placed into an environment with a low water potential (high solute concentration) compared to the intracellular water potential  it will shrivel—making the cytoplasm dense and its contents concentrated—and may die.