SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL 11

Supplementary Learning Material

Gen.Bio1
Quarter 1
Structural Components of the
Cell Membrane

What I Need to Know

This supplementary learning material was designed and written with you
in mind. It is here to help you master the structural components of the cell
membrane. The scope of this learning material permits it to be used in many
different learning situations. The language used recognizes the diverse
vocabulary level of students. The lessons are arranged to follow the standard
sequence of the course. But the order in which you read them can be changed to
correspond with the textbook you are now using.

After going through this SLM, you are expected to:

1. identify the three major constituents of the cell membrane;

2. distinguish the different composition of the cell membrane;
 3. explain the importance of the structural components of the cell
membrane;
4. explain how the arrangement of molecules provides
fluidity to the cell;

What I Know

Choose the letter of the best answer. Write the chosen letter on a separate sheet
of paper.

1. All of the following best describe a cell membrane EXCEPT.

a. It regulate what enters and leaves the cell
b. It fight bacteria and viruses that enters the cell
c. It provide rigid support and protection to the cell
d. It make sure that each cell can move

2. The phospholipid bilayer of the cell membrane is said to be “amphipathic”

in nature. What does amphipathic mean?
a. Having hydrophobic part
b. Having hydrophilic part
c. Having both hydrophobic and hydrophilic parts
d. Having more than one molecule

3. What type of cell membrane protein regulates the movement of

hydrophilic molecules through membrane?
a. Transport protein
b. Receptor protein
c. Recognition protein
d. All of the above

4. What molecules play an important role in controlling cell membrane

fluidity?
a. phospholipid
b. cholesterol
c. membrane protein
d. glycoprotein

5. What is a fluid mosaic model?

a. Organization of the cell membrane
 b. Allows substance to pass through cell membrane
c. Maintain balance in a cells survival

d. The phospholipid bilayer

6. Which biomolecule is not found in the cell membrane?

a. lipid
b. protein
c. carbohydrate
d. nucleic acid

7. Which of the following is not a characteristic of the cell membrane?

a. Selectively permeable
b. Made up of lipid layer
c. Amphipathic in nature
d. Physical and chemical barrier which separates the inside and
outside of the cell.

8. The proportion of lipids and proteins in the cell membrane is almost

always
50:50 or 1:1. This statement is
a. Correct
b. Incorrect
c. Almost always correct
d. Neither correct or incorrect

9. The molecules that play an important role in controlling cell membrane

fluidity is _________.
a. phospholipid
b. cholesterol
c. membrane protein
d. glycoprotein

10. What type of biomolecule is attached to the external side of the

membrane protein?
a. Protein
b. Carbohydrate
c. Lipid
d. Nucleic acid

11.All of the following statement about cell membrane fluidity are correct
EXCEPT.

a. Membrane fluidity allows for interactions to take place within the

membrane.
 b. Membrane fluidity makes it possible for clusters of membrane
proteins to assemble at particular sites.
c. Because of membrane fluidity, molecules that interact can come
together, carry out the necessary reaction, and move apart.
d. The fluidity of the cell membrane helps maintains its role as a rigid
barrier between the inside and outside of the cell environment.

12. The fluid mosaic model describes parts of the cell membrane such
as proteins and phospholipids as ____________.
a. Floating laterally throughout the space
b. Tethered to one place in the membrane
c. As existing only on the cytoplasmic side of the cell
d. Hydrophobic and hydrophilic molecule.

13.Which statement best describes how cholesterol affects cell membrane

fluidity?
a. Cholesterol increases fluidity at high temperature and decreases
fluidity at low temperature.
b. Cholesterol increases fluidity at high temperature and increases
fluidity at low temperature.
c. Cholesterol decreases fluidity at high temperature and decreases
fluidity at low temperature.
d. Cholesterol decreases fluidity at high temperature and increases
fluidity at low temperature.
14.Which biomolecule is not found in the cell membrane?
a. lipid
b. protein
c. carbohydrate
d. nucleic acid

15.Which of the following is not a characteristic of the cell membrane?

a. Selectively permeable
b. Made up of lipid layer
c. Amphipathic in nature
d. Physical and chemical barrier which separates the inside and
outside of the cell.
 Lesso
The Structural Component
n 1 of the Cell Membrane

You might think that the outer covering of a living cell is made up of an
equally tough and impenetrable barrier because it must protect its delicate
internal contents from the different unwanted materials from the outside
environment. But cells are separated from the outside environment by a thin,
fragile structure called the cell membrane that is only 5 to 10 nm wide. It is not
just a simple border of the cell, but it also allows the cell to interact with its
environment in a controlled way.

What’s In

FACT or BLUFF

Direction Tell whether if the following information about the cell

membrane during cell division is a fact or bluff.

1. The cell membrane disintegrates during the late phase of

mitosis.
2. Cytokinesis, the division of the cytoplasm, happen both in plant
and animal cells does not involve the cell membrane.
3. Cytokinesis in animal cells starts with the constriction in the cell
membrane during late anaphase or early telophase.
4. The cell membrane forms and create cleavage furrow that grows
deeper between the two cells until they pinch off and separate to
form two separate daughter cells.
5. In plant cells, cytokinesis involves the formation and insertion of
a new cell membrane that separate daughter nuclei after
mitosis.
 What’s New

Identify the different components of the cell membrane using the

description given below. Use the appropriate number to locate each molecule.

1. Carbohydrate chain – 2 or more monosaccharide unit, either

attached or branched found on the outside surface of the cell
membrane.
2. Cholesterol – found between the hydrophobic tails of the
membrane phospholipid.
3. Glycolipid – carbohydrates attached to a lipid molecule.
4. Glycoprotein – carbohydrates attached to a protein molecule.
5. Integral Protein – protein embedded in the phospholipid bilayer
that extend in both layers of the membrane.
6. Lipid Tail – the hydrophobic tail of the phospholipid facing the core
of the membrane.
7. Peripheral Protein – protein found in the inner or outer surface of
the membrane but not embedded on hydrophobic core.
8. Phosphate Head – globular hydrophilic head of the membrane.
What is It

The Cell Membrane

Cell Membrane (also known as
plasma membrane) is a physical and
chemical barrier which separates the inside
and outside of the cell providing fixed
environment inside the cell. It is a bilayer
of lipid with embedded proteins, in which
the proteins and lipids.
Figure 1. The cell membrane

The Structural Component of the Cell Membrane

The cell membrane is composed of three main components: lipids,

proteins, and carbohydrates. The ratio of lipids and proteins in the cell
membrane is 1:1 or 50% lipids and 50% proteins. Membrane protein in the cell
membrane is several times larger than the lipid molecule, but lipid molecules are
50 times more than protein molecules. The ratio is not absolute and varies from
membrane to membrane

Phospholipid Bilayer
The fundamental building block of cell membrane is the phospholipid
which is an amphipathic molecule, consisting of both hydrophobic and
hydrophilic regions. The hydrophilic or “water loving” (polar) region is the
globular head containing phosphate group; the hydrophobic or “water-fearing”
(nonpolar) regions are their fatty acid tails. The membrane lipids are organized
into a continuous bilayer in which the hydrophobic regions of the phospholipids
are shielded from the aqueous environment since it is poorly soluble in water
and constitute a barrier impenetrable to almost all substances, while the
hydrophilic regions are exposed to high water content region. Proteins are found
inserted into this lipid bilayer and are classified into integral proteins and
peripheral proteins.
 Figure 2. The Phospholipid Bilayer
Figure3. The Amphipathic nature of the phospholipid

It is also semi-permeable in nature, where it is impermeable to water-

soluble molecule but not to water. Approximately, the phospholipid to
phospholipid thickness of the cell membrane is about 5-10nm.

Protein
Protein, the second major component of the cell membrane is grouped into three
distinct classes depending on their relationship to the lipid bilayer.

Figure 4. The Membrane Proteins

1. Integral proteins as their name suggests, integrated into the

membrane proteins that penetrate the lipid bilayer. They pass entirely
through the lipid bilayer and protrude from both the extracellular and
cytoplasmic sides of the cell membrane.

2. Peripheral proteins are membrane proteins that are associated

within the surface of the cell membrane and found either on the
cytoplasmic or extracellular side. Unlike integral protein, they do not
stick into the hydrophobic core of the membrane and they tend to be
more loosely attached.

Carbohydrates
Carbohydrates are the third major component of the cell membrane. In general,
they are found on the outside surface of the cells and are bound either in protein
forming glycoproteins or to lipids forming glycolipids. These carbohydrates may
consist of 2-60 monosaccharide units and can either be straight or branched.

The Fluid Mosaic Model

The fluid mosaic model describes the cell membrane as several molecules
(phospholipid, cholesterol and proteins) that are constantly moving. This
movement helps the cell membrane maintains its role as a barrier between the
inside and outside of the cell environment.

The fluidity of a cell membrane depends on the lipid composition of the

membrane, the density of integral proteins, and the temperature. The
fatty acids and cholesterol play an important role in the fluidity of the cell
membrane.

Figure 5. The Fluid Mosaic Model

Role of Fatty Acids

The structure of the fatty acid tails of the phospholipid is important in
determining how fluid is the membrane. Saturated fatty acids have no double
bonds, so they are relatively straight while unsaturated fatty acids contain
one or more double bond, often resulting in a bend or kink.

A long chain of saturated fatty acids have greater interactions among

themselves making the cell membrane stiffer. While more unsaturated fatty
acids in the lipid tails make the membrane becomes less tightly packed resulting
to the increase of the cell membrane fluidity. Thus, at cooler temperature the
straight tails of saturated fatty acids can pack tightly together, making a dense
and fairly rigid cell membrane while unsaturated fatty acid tails cannot pack
together as tightly because of the bent structure of the tails making the cell
membrane to stay fluid at lower temperature.
Role of Cholesterol
The presence of cholesterol in the membrane makes it possible for the cell
membrane to maintain its fluidity across a wide range of temperatures. It helps
to minimize the effects of temperature on fluidity. At low temperature,
cholesterol increases the fluidity by keeping the phospholipids from packing
tightly together while at high temperature, it reduces fluidity. In this way,
cholesterol expands the range of the temperatures at which a membrane
maintains a functional healthy fluidity.

The number of cholesterol molecules in the membrane can be as high as

the number of phospholipids. A high amount of cholesterol in the phospholipid
bilayer makes the cell membrane remains fluid. While having a high density of
integral proteins makes the cell membrane have less fluid.

The Importance of Membrane Fluidity

Membrane fluidity provides a perfect compromise between a rigid
structure which makes mobility absent and a completely fluid where mechanical
support would be lacking. It also allows interactions to take place within the
membrane. Because of membrane fluidity, molecules that interact can come
together, carry out the necessary reaction, and move apart.
Basic cellular processes, including cell movement, cell growth, cell
division, formation of intercellular junctions, secretion, and endocytosis, depend
on the fluidity of the cell membrane.

What’s More

Direction: Answer the following questions.

Q1. How is phospholipid arranged in the cell membrane?
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Q2. How does the arrangement of different structural components the cell
membrane contribute to its fluidity?
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Q3. Aside from cell membrane, where else can you find a bilayer of lipid?
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What I Have Learned

1. The Cell Membrane

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2. Amphipathic molecule is
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3. The different membrane proteins in the phospholipid bilayer are

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4. Glycoproteins are
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5. The fluidity of the cell membrane helps

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6. Saturated fatty acids and unsaturated fatty acids

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7. Cholesterol makes it possible for the cell membrane to

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 What I Can Do

Building a Structure
Make a fluid mosaic model of the cell membrane using recyclable and
indigenous materials.

RUBRICS:

Criteria 4 3 2 1

Scientific Explanation Explanation Explanation Explanation

Knowledge indicates a indicates an indicates a illustrate a
clear and accurate relative little
accurate understanding accurate understanding
understanding of the scientific understanding of the scientific
of the principles. of the scientific principles.
scientific principles.
principles.

Fluidity 3-D model is

3-D model is 3-D model is 3-D model is
creative,
very creative, creative, somehow
mostly
accurate and somewhat creative, less
accurate and
all molecules accurate and accurate and
molecules are
are clearly molecules are molecules are
clearly
labeled. labeled. labeled.
labeled.

Construction- Appropriate Appropriate Appropriate Appropriate

Materials recyclables recyclables recyclables
recyclables
and and and
and
indigenous indigenous indigenous
indigenous
materials were materials were materials
materials were
selected and selected and are
modified in selected and selected.
creatively there was an
ways that
modified in attempt at
made them
ways that creative
even better.
made them modification to
even better. make them
even better.

Over-all Great care Construction is Construction is Construction

Appearance taken in careful and but could have appear
construction accurate . been careless and
 process so refined many details
that the for more need
structure is attractive refinement.
neat, product.
attractive and
accurate.

Additional Activities

Analogy
Direction: In a real life situation, where can you compare the cell membrane.
Briefly explain your answer. Give at least three (3) examples.

Examples Explanation