Question

The lipid component of the cell membrane does not show/have
a) Quasi-fluid nature
b) Hydrophilic tail
c) Flip flop movement
d) Saturated hydrocarbons

Answer 1

Hint: A cell is considered to be the structural and functional working unit of life and it is also described as the building blocks and fundamental unit of an organism. The term cell was coined by an English scientist called Robert Hooke. The cell membrane is also known as the plasma membrane and it is the outermost covering of animal cells. It is a semi-permeable membrane which is composed of lipids and proteins.

Complete answer:
A plasma membrane is mainly composed of carbohydrates, phospholipids, proteins and conjugated molecules.
Phospholipids, arranged in a bi-layer, make up the basic fabric of the plasma membrane. They are well-suited for this role because they are amphipathic, meaning that they have both hydrophilic and hydrophobic regions. The hydrophilic, or “water-loving,” portion of a phospholipid is its head, which contains a negatively charged phosphate group as well as an additional small group. The hydrophobic, or “water-fearing,” part of a phospholipid consists of its long, non-polar fatty acid tails.
The quasi fluid nature of the membrane is due to the presence of phospholipids. Fluid nature suggests that when a needle is pricked the plasma membrane will not break
The phospholipids show movements like lateral movement or flip flop movement.
Saturated hydrocarbons that have a single bond between the carbon atoms make up the phospholipid tails.

So, the correct answer is option B which is ‘Hydrophilic tail'.

Note:
We must note that the plasma membrane is a flexible and lipid bilayer that surrounds and contains the cytoplasm of the cell. Based on the arrangement of molecules and the presence of certain specialized components it is also described as the fluid mosaic model.