Question

!!! One Medal Question !!!
- Describe the composition of the plasma membrane

Answer 1

The plasma membrane mainly consists of the phospholipid bilayer. Phospholipids are structures that have two main parts: the hydrophillic heads and the hydrophobic tails. Hydrophobic means "afraid of water" and hydrophillic means "likes water". Because of the structure of phospholipids, the bilayer consists of two layers of phospholipids, with the hydrophillic heads facing outside the cell and inside the cytoplasm.

Besides phospholipids, we have proteins attached to the bilayer. The two main types of proteins are integral proteins and peripheral proteins. Integral proteins are proteins placed in the bilayer, so that it completely penetrates through the bilayer. Peripheral proteins are proteins attached on the bilayer. These proteins facilitate transport of molecules in and out of the cell.