Cell Membrane Permeability Diffusion
Name:
Visit the PHET Interactive Simulations website from the University of Colorado Boulder.
Click “Download.”
Consider the upper blue area to be an area outside the cell and the lower blue area to be an area inside the cell. The yellow line through the middle of the simulation is the cell membrane.
On the right side of the simulation, check the box that says “Show concentrations.”
Drag and drop two green “Gated Channels” from the lower right box onto the yellow Cell Membrane.
Drag and Drop two blue “Gated Channels” from the lower right box onto the yellow Cell Membrane.
Press the Red Button a few times on the bottom area (inside the cell) to add some particles. Add both blue and green particles.
Answer the following questions:
| How many blue particles did you add? | 5 |
| How many green particles did you add? | 5 |
Make an observation and answer the following question:
| What do you notice about the particles moving around inside the cell? | All particles moved around the cell. The two types of particles could only move inside the cell and did not move out through the cell membrane. |
- On the top right of the screen, click “Open Channels” for the green circles only. Observe for 40 seconds.
| What do you notice about the particles moving? | Two green particles moved out of the cell, and then one moved back inside the cell after a few seconds.
The blue particles only moved inside the cell and could not move out of the cell through the open green-gated channels. |
On the top right of the screen, click “Open Channels” for the blue diamonds. Observe for 40 seconds.
| What do you notice about the particles moving? | One blue particle moved out of the cell and then back into the cell after a few seconds. After some time, three blue particles moved out, and one went back into the cell.
The green particles only moved inside the cell and could not move out of the cell through the open blue-gated channels. |
- Add many more blue and green particles to the inside of the cell again. Observe for 40 seconds.
| What changed about how the particles are moving? | The green and blue particles moved in and out of the cell through their respective channels. The movement of each type of particle depended on its concentration in the cell. For instance, if the concentration of the green circles inside the cell were low compared to the blue particles, more green particles would move from the external area into the area inside the cell. |
Consider your readings from this week about the cell, cell membranes, and permeability.
| How do your observations relate to the readings from this week? Use examples and be sure to discuss at least the following concepts:
· Cell Wall · Permeability · Transport |
The relation between the observations from the Membrane Channels simulation and this week’s readings is notable. To begin with, the inability of the particles to move out of the cell through the cell membrane when the Gated Channels were closed revealed the cell membrane’s role as a permeability barrier and its function in preventing the leakage of materials.
In particular, selective permeability was demonstrated when only green circles could pass through the green-gated Channels and when only blue particles moved through the blue-gated channels. Permeability, in this case, refers to the ability of certain solutes to pass through the cell membrane or cell wall. A cell wall is a layer outside the cell membrane that envelopes prokaryotic cells, including Bacteria and Archaea (Madigan et al., 2021). Further, the movement of the green and blue outside and back into the cell through their respective channels portrayed the function of the cell membrane as a gateway for the transport of materials into and out of the cell. Essentially, this role is significant in transporting nutrients inside the cell and wastes out of the cell. |
References
Madigan, M. T., Aiyer, J., Buckley, D. H., Sattley, W. M., & Stahl, D. A. (2021). Brock biology of microorganisms (16th Ed.). Pearson.
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How does the size of molecules affect their ability to pass through the cell membrane via diffusion?”
Cell Membrane Permeability Diffusion
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