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Cell Membrane & Tonicity Worksheet

Composition of the Cell Membrane & Functions
The cell membrane is also called the PLASMA membrane and is made of a phospholipid SKETCH AND LABEL a
BI-LAYER. The phospholipids have a hydrophilic (water attracting) HEADS and two phospholipid coloring
the heads red and the
hydrophobic (water repelling) TAILS. The head of a phospholipid is made of an alcohol and tails blue.
GLYCEROL group, while the tails are chains of FATTY ACIDS. Phospholipids can move
SIDEWAYS and allow water and other NON-POLAR molecules to pass through into or out of
the cell. This is known as simple PASSIVE TRANSPORT because it does not require ENERGY
and the water or molecules are moving WITH the concentration gradient.

Another type of lipid in the cell membrane is CHOLESTEROL that makes the membrane more fluid.
Embedded in the phospholipid bilayer are PROTEINS that also aid in diffusion and in cell recognition.
Proteins called INTEGRAL proteins go all the way through the bilayer, while PERIPHERAL proteins are only
on one side. Large molecules like PROTEINS or carbohydrates use proteins to help move across cell
membranes. Some of the membrane proteins have carbohydrate PARTS attached to help cells in recognize
each other and certain molecules.
List 4 functions of the cell or plasma membrane:
a. CELL SIGNALING
b. SELECTIVE TRANSPORT
c. EXCRETION OF WASTES
d. STRUCTURAL SUPPORT

Correctly color code and identify the name for each part of the cell membrane.
Letter Name/Color Letter Name/Color
__ A ___ Phospholipid bilayer (no color) __ H ___ Peripheral protein (red)
__ B ___ Integral protein (pink) __ I ____ Cholesterol (blue)
__ F ___ Fatty acid tails (orange) __ C___ Glycoprotein (green)
__ G ___ Phosphate heads (yellow) __ E ___ Glycolipids (purple)

Match the cell membrane structure or its function with the correct letter from the cell membrane diagram.
Letter Structure/Function Letter Structure/Function

__ G ___ Attracts water __ F__ Repels water

__ I ___ Helps maintain flexibility of membrane _G&F Make up the bilayer
__ C & E___ Involved in cell-to-cell recognition __ B__ Help transport certain materials across the
cell membrane
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Define osmosis. THE MOVEMENT OF WATER ACROSS A SELECTIVELY PERMEABLE MEMBRANE FROM AN
AREA OF HIGH CONCENTRATION TO AN AREA OF LOW CONCENTRATION.

In which direction does water move across membranes, up or down the concentration gradient?
DOWN
Define these 3 terms:
a. isotonic- THE CONCENTRATION OF DISSOLVED PARTICLES ARE THE SAME INSIDE AND OUTSIDE THE
CELL – THERE IS NO OVERALL CHANGE IN THE CELL SIZE
b. hypertonic THE CONCENTRATION OF DISSOLVED PARTICLES ARE HIGHER OUTSIDE THE CELL THAN
INSIDE THE CELL– WATER WILL LEAVE THE CELL IN AN ATTEMPT TO DILUTE THE OUTSIDE
CONCENTRATION
c. hypotonic THE CONCENTRATION OF DISSOLVED PARTICLES ARE LOWER OUTSIDE THE CELL THAN
INSIDE THE CELL– WATER WILL ENTER THE CELL IN AN ATTEMPT TO DILUTE THE INSIDE
CONCENTRATION

Use arrows to show the direction of water movement into or out of each cell. Color and label the cell in an
isotonic environment light blue, the hypotonic environment yellow, and the hypertonic environment light
green.

Match the description or picture with the osmotic condition:

A. Isotonic __ C __ solution with a lower solute concentration
__A __ solution in which the solute concentration is the same
B. Hypertonic __ A__ condition plant cells require
__ A__ condition that animal cells require
C. Hypotonic __ C __ red blood cell bursts (cytolysis)
__ C ___ plant cell loses turgor pressure (Plasmolysis)
__ B ___ solution with a higher solute concentration
__ A __ plant cell with good turgor pressure
__ C___ solution with a high water concentration
Label the tonicity for each solution (isotonic, hypotonic, or hypertonic):

HYPOTONIC ISOTONIC HYPERTONIC HYPOTONIG ISOTONIC HYPERTONIC

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 Transport Requiring Energy
What type of transport is represented by the following
picture? ACTIVE
What energy is being used? ATP
In which direction (concentration gradient), is the
movement occurring? AGAINST

Color the internal environment of the cell yellow.

Color and Label the transport proteins red and the
substance being moved blue.

One type of active transport is called the SODIUM-

POTASSIUM pump which helps muscle cells contract. This
pump uses PROTEINS to move ions AGAINST the
concentration gradient. The protein that is used to pump
the ions through is called a TRANSMEMBRANE (INTEGRAL)
protein and it changes its SHAPE to move the ions across
the cell membrane.

Label and color the carrier proteins red and the ions green.

TONICITY AND OSMOSIS

Part I – Fill in the blanks.

A SOLVENT is a fluid in which a substance is dissolved.
A SOLUTE is a substance dissolved in a solvent.
A SOLUTION is a combination of solute and solvent.
The process by which water diffuses across a membrane called OSMOSIS

Part II – Look at the solutions illustrated above and fill in the blanks.
1. Solution B is HYPERTONIC to Solution A. This is because Solution B has a greater concentration of
SOLUTES in it than does Solution A. Solution C has no solutes dissolved in it, therefore it is HYPOTONIC to
both Solutions A and B.

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2. As a relative concentration of solutes in two solutions increases, of necessity the concentration of water in
the same two solutions INCREASES. Solution A has a lower concentration of SOLUTE than does Solution C;
Solution A is also hypertonic to Solution C.

3. If you wanted to make Solution A isotonic to Solution B, you could add water to Solution B or you could
add solute to Solution A. If you took all three solutions, put them into a large container and mixed them
thoroughly, then redistributed the solution among three containers, Solution A would be ISOTONIC to
Solution B. Solution A would also be ISOTONIC to Solution C, and Solution C would be ISOTONIC to
Solution B.

Part III – Look at the solutions and cells illustrated above and fill in the blanks.
1. Because the cytoplasms of the plant and the animal cell have equal concentrations of solutes, we can say
their cytoplasms are ISOTONIC to each other. If we put both the plant and the animal cells into Solution A,
we would expect no change in the cells, because Solution A is ISOTONIC to the cytoplasm of each cell.
2. Let’s put both cells into Solution B. Because Solution B is hypertonic to the cytoplasms of the cells, we
would expect water to LEAVE the cells through the process of OSMOSIS. This would result in the cytoplasm
of both cells shrinking.
3. Now we’ll put both the plant and animal cell into Solution C, which, because it contains no solutes at all, is
HYPOTONIC to the cytoplasm of both cells. WATER will enter both cells through osmosis. The animal cell is
likely to BURST, unfortunately. The plant cell, however, is protected from this because of the presence of its
CELL WALL.

Refer to the U-tube pictures above when answering the questions below.

1. Why did the number of water molecules on each side of the membrane change, whereas the number of
sugar molecules stayed the same? WATER MOLECULES ARE SMALL ENOUGH TO PASS THROUGH THE
PORES OF THE MEMBRANE, HOWEVER, THE SUGAR MOLECULES ARE NOT.

2. How does the plasma membrane of a cell compare with the membrane in the U-shaped tube?
THEY ARE BOTH SELECTIVELY PERMEABLE BASED ON SIZE OF PARTICLES

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3. Explain the behavior of water molecules in the isotonic solution. WATER MOLECULES WILL MOVE INTO
AND OUT OF THE CELL CONTINUOUSLY, HOWEVER, THERE WILL BE NO OVERALL CONCENTRATION
CHANGE SINCE THE MOVEMENT SHOULD BE EQUAL.

4. Does osmosis occur if a cell is placed in an isotonic solution? NO, BECAUSE THERE IS NO
CONCENTRATION GRADIENT (AREA OF HIGH TO AREA OF LOW – ISOTONIC IMPLIES EQUAL
CONCENTRATIONS)

5. Why does water enter a cell that is placed in a hypotonic solution? BECAUSE THE CONCENTRATION OF
SOLUTE IS LOWER OUTSIDE THE CELL THAN IT IS INSIDE THE CELL, SO THE WATER ENTERS THE CELL
TO TRY TO DECREASE/EQUALIZE THE CONCENTRATIONS ON BOTH SIDES OF THE MEMBRANE.

6. What happens to the pressure inside a cell that is placed in a hypertonic solution? THE PRESSURE
DECREASES AS THE WATER LEAVES THE CELL.

7. What can happen to animal cells when placed in a hypotonic solution? Explain. ANIMAL CELLS IN
HYPOTONIC SOLUTIONS CAN RUPTURE AS MORE AND MORE WATER RUSHES INTO THE CELL. PLANT
CELLS WILL NOT HAVE THIS ISSUE BECAUSE THE CELL WALL PROTECTS THE PLANT CELLS FROM
RUPTURING.

8. What causes a plant to wilt? PLANTS PLACED IN A HYPERTONIC SOLUTION WILL WILT AS WATER IS
REMOVED FROM THEM RESULTING IN PLASMOLYSIS.