Question

How do phospholipids arrange themselves into bilayer?

Answer 1

Hint: Plasma membrane is also termed as the cell membrane. It is the membrane that is present in all the cells. It distinguishes the interior of the cell from the external environment of the cell. The plasma membrane is made up of lipid bilayer with proteins and carbohydrates embedded in between.

Complete answer:
- The plasma membrane is composed of the components like phospholipids, cholesterol, proteins, and carbohydrates.
- These all components of the plasma membrane provide the membrane a fluid character.
- Plasma membrane shows its size range from 5 to 10 nm in thickness.

Phospholipids:
- Phospholipids are the class of lipids that are existing in the plasma membrane.
- A phospholipid is a molecule which is usually composed of glycerol, two fatty acids and one phosphate linked head group.
- They are amphipathic in nature in which they have a polar or hydrophilic head and a nonpolar or hydrophobic tail.
- Phospholipids organize themselves in a manner that their hydrophobic tails facing each other and hydrophobic heads dealing with out.
- There is a barrier created by using this arrangement and gives a bilayer shape to the cell membrane.

Proteins and Carbohydrate:
The proteins are present embedded in the bilayer. This helps in transport of polar molecules like water and other polar ions. The carbohydrate helps in maintaining structural integrity of the membrane.

Note: The lipid bilayer provides flexibility and fluidity to the plasma membrane. Plasma membrane is usually shown as semi-permeable membrane which means that it allows the movement of selective molecules or ions across itself. Plasma membranes show performance of various functions like osmosis, endocytosis, exocytosis, diffusion, etc. The amount of the components of plasma membrane that are proteins, carbohydrates, lipids differ with the cell type.