Question

How is a bubble similar to a fluid mosaic model of the cell membrane

Answer 1

The cell’s plasma membrane is a lipid bilayer with protein molecules scattered throughout as shown in the diagram above. The protein molecules transport other molecules through the plasma membrane and into or out of the cell. Carbohydrate chains act as “name tags” for a cell, indicating the type of cell. All of the membranes in the cell (nuclear envelope, endoplasmic reticulum, membranes in the chloroplasts and mitochondria) are essentially the same as the cell’s outer plasma membrane. The lipid bilayer is made of two layers of molecules. Each lipid molecule is called a phospholipid. Each phospholipid molecule has a polar (hydrophilic) head and two non-polar (hydrophobic) tails. The hydrophobic tails of the two layers repel water. The hydrophobic tails are attracted to each other. They form the inside of the membrane bilayer while the polar heads are on the outside closest to the water. Soap bubbles are bilayers very similar to phospholipid membranes, so they can be used to investigate some of the properties of the cell membrane. The soap bubble bilayer is made of molecules with a hydrophilic head and a hydrophobic tail. Unlike a cell, air surrounds a soap bubble instead of water. Air is nonpolar, so the tails of the soap’s bilayer face outward and the polar heads form the inside.

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