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GENERAL BIOLOGY 1
Quarter 1 – Module 6:
TRANSPORT MECHANISM

Polytechnic College of Botolan · Botolan, Zambales

Senior High School Department
 Republic of the Philippines
POLYTECHNIC COLLEGE OF BOTOLAN
(Formerly Botolan Community College)
Botolan, Zambales
E-mail: [email protected]
Website: pcbzambales.com
Contact number: 0949-155-3113

GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Do not write anything on the module.

2. Read the directions carefully.
3. Provide your own answer sheet.

I. LEARNING OBJECTIVES

At the end of the lesson, the students should be able to:

1. Explain transport mechanisms in cells (diffusion, osmosis, facilitated transport and active transport;
2. Differentiate exocytosis and endocytosis; and
3. Understand the importance of transport mechanism.

II. PRE-TEST

Review:
Write F if the statement speaks of the function of the cell membrane and NF if not.
_____1. Separates the contents of the cell from its outside environment and it regulates what enters and exits the cell.
_____2. Plays a vital role in protecting the integrity of the interior of the cell by allowing only selected substances into the cell
and keeping other substances out.
_____3. Serves as a base of attachment for the cytoskeleton in some organisms and the cell wall in others.
_____4. Supports the cell and helps in maintaining the shape of the cell.
_____5. Monitor and maintain the cell’s chemical climate and assist in the transfers of molecules across the membrane.

III. LESSON PROPER

TRANSPORT MECHANISMS IN CELLS

Cells require and use energy and materials to perform cellular tasks. Such task might include movement,
packaging and exporting materials, dividing and reproducing. As energy flows within a cell these materials also flow so that
growth, repair and replacement may continue within the cell. These materials move in the intracellular fluid (the fluid within
the cells).

Cells of multicellular organisms are surrounded by extracellular fluid (fluid outside of the cell). Single-cell organisms
are surrounded by the water in which they live or in the fluids of their host’s body.

Materials move through membranes and within cells by passive transport mechanisms such as diffusion or osmosis.
In passive transport, the cells do not use any energy to move the molecules. The molecules move through a gradual change
or GRADIENT. Materials may also move through membranes by active transport mechanism. Here the cell uses energy to
get molecules into or out of the cell against the gradient. Active transport is a little bit like going the wrong way on a one-way
street.

https://slideplayer.com/slide/4623798/

Module 6 ‖ Page 2
 Diffusion is the tendency of molecules or materials to move from areas of high concentrations into areas the same
molecules are in a lower concentration. This tendency is a result of the intrinsic thermal energy (heat) found in all molecules
at temperatures above absolute zero. Without other outside forces at work, substances will move/diffuse from a more
concentrated environment to a less concentrated environment. Magsend ka ng smiley emoticon sa group chat kung nabasa
mo hanggang dito. No work is performed for this to happen, as diffusion is a spontaneous process. Most materials move by
simple diffusion through the semi permeable membrane surrounding the cell. A semi permeable membrane only allows certain
types of molecules to enter or leave the cell. Limitations may be based on size or charge of the molecules. Simple diffusion
does not require energy, instead it happens by random motion.

http://cocoapuffs321.blogspot.com/2011/10/diffusion-lab.html

Osmosis is the movement of a solvent such as water through a semi permeable membrane from areas of high
concentration to areas of low concentration of the same solvent. In cells the solvent is water.

In hypotonic solutions, where the fluid surrounding the cell has lower osmotic pressure, the water moves into the
cell; in isotonic solutions, the water entering and leaving is about equal and so there is no net movement; in hypertonic
solutions, where the fluid surrounding the cell has lower osmotic pressure, the water moves out of a cell. Plant cells have
higher solute concentrations (and thus lower solvent concentrations) than the surrounding fluids. This leads to a movement
of solvent (water) molecules into the cell and causes an increase in the pressure inside of the cell. This pressure is called
turgor pressure and helps to keep the cells rigid or stiff.

https://biologydictionary.net/hypertonic-solution/

In facilitated diffusion transport proteins in the

membrane help move molecules along the concentration
gradient without any additional energy input in the cell.
Certain molecules in the membrane, mostly proteins, act
like pumps using energy to move materials against
concentration gradients. In other words, facilitated
diffusion is a diffusion that is helped along a membrane via
specific carrier protein.

https://ib.bioninja.com.au/standard-level/topic-1-cell-
biology/14

Module 6 ‖ Page 3
ACTIVE TRANSPORT
In simple and facilitated diffusion, a concentration gradient is being dispersed. However, there are times that the cell
needs to establish and maintain a concentration gradient. To do such, it requires active transport. Here, the cell utilizes cellular
energy in the form of ATP to move a substance from a region of lower concentration to a region of higher concentration, that
is, in the direction against its concentration gradient. Active transport is usually associated with accumulating high
concentrations of molecules that the cell needs, such as amino acids, ions, and glucose. A typical example of active transport
is the sodium/potassium pump in cell membranes especially in nerve cells.

BULK TRANSPORT
The movement of macromolecules such as proteins or polysaccharides into or out of the cell is called bulk transport.
There are two types of bulk transport, exocytosis and endocytosis, and both require the expenditure of energy (ATP).

EXOCYTOSIS and ENDOCYTOSIS

In exocytosis, materials are exposed out of the cell via secretory vesicles. In this process, the Golgi complex
packages macromolecules into transport vesicles that travel to and fuse with the plasma membrane. this fusion causes the
vesicles to spill its contents out of the cell. Exocytosis is important in expulsion of waste materials out of the cell and in the
secretion of cellular products such as digestive enzymes or hormones.

Endocytosis, on the other hand, is the process by which materials move into the cell. There are three types of
endocytosis: phagocytosis, pinocytosis, and receptor-mediated endocytosis. In phagocytosis or cellular eating, the cells
plasma membrane surrounds a macromolecule or even an entire cell from the extracellular environment and buds off to form
a food vacuole or phagosome. The newly formed phagosome then fuses with a lysosome whose hydrolytic enzymes digest
the food inside.

In pinocytosis or cellular drinking, the cell engulfs drops of fluid by pinching in and forming vesicles that are smaller
than the phagosomes formed in phagocytosis. Like phagocytosis, pinocytosis is a non-specific process in which the cell takes
in whatever solutes that are dissolved in the liquid it envelopes.

Unlike phagocytosis and pinocytosis, receptor-mediated endocytosis is an extremely selective process of

importing materials into the cell. This specificity is mediated by receptor proteins located on depressed areas of the cell
membrane called coated pits.

https://orbitbiotech.com/plasma-membrane-bulk-transport/

The cytosolic surface of coated pits is covered by coat proteins. In receptor-mediated endocytosis, the cell will only
take in an extracellular molecule if it binds to its specific receptor protein on the cell’s surface. Once bound, the coated pit on
which the bound receptor protein is located then invaginates, or pinches in, to form a coated vesicle. Similar to the digestive
process in non-specific phagocytosis, this coated vesicle then fuses with a lysosome to digest the engulfed material and
release it into the cytosol. Mammalian cells use receptor-mediated endocytosis to take cholesterol into cells. Cholesterol in
the blood is usually found in lipid-protein complexes called low density lipoproteins (LDLs). Kung umabot ka dito congrats!
masasagot mo ng tama ang mga activities. LDLs bind to specific receptor proteins on the cell surface, thereby triggering their
uptake by receptor-mediated endocytosis.

ACTIVITY 1
Answer the following:
1. What are the different roles of mitosis and diffusion among living organisms?

2. Explain briefly the movements across membranes.

 Diffusion –
 Osmosis –
 Facilitated Transport –
 Active Transport –

Module 6 ‖ Page 4
ACTIVITY 2

Distinguish the difference between exocytosis and endocytosis.

EXOCYTOSIS ENDOCYTOSIS

ACTIVITY 3
EXPERIMENT: Cell Membrane and Cell Transport

A.
Materials
soap
small basin
water
condiment cup (small)
towel
B.
Procedure
1. Create soap suds by mixing water and soap.
2. Mix well to develop bobbles.
3. When there are enough bubbles insert your dry finger. Observe what happens. Do the same
procedure with a wet finger, soapy finger, dry condiment cup and soapy condiment cup.
End Result with the soap film
What happened with the bubbles
when you placed each of the
following? (Put a check mark for Popped Did not popped
your answer under each of the
2nd and 3rd columns)

Dry finger
Wet finger
Soapy finger
Dry condiment cup
Soapy condiment cup

Questions:
1. What is another name for the cell membrane?
2. What does selectively permeable mean?
3. What is the difference between active and passive transport?

IV. GENERALIZATION

 Where is the cell membrane located?

 What is the function of the cell membrane?
 What is the importance of transport mechanism?

V. REFERENCES

Faltado, R.E., Lopez, M.B., & Paz de Leon, R.B. (2017). General Biology 1
for Senior High School (Specialized Subject)

Google Images

Prepared by:
MAE BERNADETTE S. SORIANO
Instructor
Reviewed by:
MYRNA S. PANGAN
SHS Program Coordinator

Module 6 ‖ Page 5