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General Biology 1 – Grade 12 (STEM)

Learning Activity Sheets
Quarter 1 – Week 5: Cell Membrane: Structure and Function

First Edition, 2021

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Development Team of the Learning Activity Sheets

Writer: Irene F. Havana

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Author: IRENE F, HAVANA

School/Station: Barobo National High School
Division: Surigao del Sur
email address: irene.havana@deped.gov.ph Page 1
 WEEKLY LEARNING ACTIVITY SHEET
General Biology 1, Grade 12, Quarter 1 Week 5

CELL MEMBRANE: STRUCTURE AND FUNCTION

Name: __________________________________________________ Section: ____________________________

Learning Competencies:

Describe the structural components of the cell membrane

(STEM_BIO11/12-Ig-h-11)
Relate the structure and composition of the cell membrane to its function
(STEM_BIO11/12-Ig-h-12)

Specific Learning Objectives:

1. Identify and describe the structural components of the cell membrane

2. Relate the structure and composition of the cell membrane to its function
3. Explain how the components of the cell membrane contribute to its fluidity

Time Allotment: 2 hours

Key Concepts

Cell Membrane

The plasma membrane also known as cell membrane enclosed the cell, separating the inside and
outside environments. It is necessary for the specialized transport of materials. This membrane is
semi-permeable in nature. It also provides protection for the cell.

Fluid mosaic model

The fluid mosaic model is the currently accepted model for the structure of the cell membrane. It
was first proposed in 1972. This model gives a good basic description of the structure and behavior
of membranes in most cells.

This model describes the cell membrane as a mosaic of components of phospholipids, cholesterol,
and proteins that move freely and fluidly in the plane of the membrane.

The major components of the cell membrane are lipids (phospholipids and cholesterol), proteins,
and carbohydrate groups that are attached to some lipids and proteins.

• A phospholipid is a lipid made of glycerol, two fatty acid tails, and a phosphate-linked head
group. Biological membranes usually involve two layers of phospholipids with their tails
pointing inward. This arrangement is called a phospholipid bilayer.

• Cholesterol is another lipid composed of four fused carbon rings that is found alongside
phospholipids in the core of the membrane.

• Membrane proteins are found to extend partway into the plasma membrane, cross the
membrane entirely, or be loosely attached to its inside or outside face.

• Carbohydrate groups are present only on the outer surface of the plasma membrane. These
are attached to a proteins, forming glycoproteins, or lipids, forming glycolipids.

The amount of proteins, lipids, and carbohydrates in cell membrane vary between different types
of cells. For a human cell, however, proteins may account for about 50 percent of the composition
by mass, lipids (of all types) may account for about 40 percent, and the 10 percent comes from
carbohydrates (Reece et. al, 2011).

Author: IRENE F, HAVANA

School/Station: Barobo National High School
Division: Surigao del Sur
email address: irene.havana@deped.gov.ph Page 2
Phospholipids

Phospholipids are arranged in a bilayer. These make up the basic fabric of the plasma membrane.
They are amphipathic in nature. They have both hydrophilic and hydrophobic regions.

The hydrophilic, or “water-loving,” portion of a

phospholipid is its head, which contains a negatively
charged phosphate group as well as an additional small
group, which may also be charged or polar. The hydrophilic
heads of phospholipids in a membrane bilayer face
outward, contacting the aqueous fluid both inside and
outside the cell. Since water is a polar molecule, it readily
forms electrostatic interactions with the phospholipid
heads.

The hydrophobic, or “water-fearing,” part of a

phospholipid consists of its long, nonpolar fatty acid tails.
The fatty acid tails can easily interact with other nonpolar
Image credit: OpenStax Biology molecules, but they interact poorly with water. Because of
this, it is more favorable for the phospholipids to tuck their
fatty acid tails away in the interior of the membrane where they are shielded from the surrounding
water. The phospholipid bilayer formed by these interactions makes a good barrier between the
interior and exterior of the cell, because water and other polar or charged substances cannot easily
cross the hydrophobic core of the membrane.

Because of their amphipathic nature, phospholipids tend

to arrange themselves with their hydrophobic tails facing
each other and their hydrophilic heads facing out. If the
phospholipids have small tails, they may form a micelle,
while if they have bulkier tails, they may form a liposome.

Proteins

Proteins are the second major component of cell

Image credit: modification of work by OpenStax membranes. There are two main categories of membrane
Biology, originally by Mariana Ruiz Villareal. proteins, the integral and peripheral.

Integral membrane proteins are integrated into the

membrane. They have at least one hydrophobic region that
anchors them to the hydrophobic core of the phospholipid
bilayer. Some stick only partway into the membrane, while
others stretch from one side of the membrane to the other
and are exposed on either side. Transmembrane proteins
are proteins that extend all the way across the membrane

The portions of an integral membrane protein found inside

Image credit: image modified from
OpenStax Biology, originally by
Foobar/Wikimedia Commons.
Image credit: "Components and structure:
Figure 1," by OpenStax College, Biology (CC
BY 3.0)._
the membrane are hydrophobic, while those that are
exposed to the cytoplasm or extracellular fluid tend to be
hydrophilic. Transmembrane proteins may cross the
membrane just once, or may have as many as twelve
different membrane-spanning sections. A typical
membrane-spanning segment consists of 20-25
hydrophobic amino acids arranged in an alpha helix,
although not all transmembrane proteins fit this model.
Some integral membrane proteins form a channel that
allows ions or other small molecules to pass, as shown on
the left.

Author: IRENE F, HAVANA

School/Station: Barobo National High School
Division: Surigao del Sur
email address: irene.havana@deped.gov.ph Page 3
Peripheral membrane proteins as shown above are found on the outside and inside surfaces of
membranes and are attached either to integral proteins or to phospholipids. Unlike integral
membrane proteins, peripheral membrane proteins 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 plasma membranes. They are commonly found
on the outside surface of cells and are bound either to proteins or to lipids. These carbohydrate
chains may consist of 2-60 monosaccharide units and can be either straight or branched.

Along with membrane proteins, these carbohydrates form distinctive cellular markers, sort of like
molecular ID badges, that allow cells to recognize each other. These markers are very important in
cell to cell recognition. Like the immune system this allows immune cells to differentiate between
body cells which they shouldn’t attack and foreign cells or tissues, which they should.

Membrane fluidity

Membrane fluidity describes the ease of movement for molecules in the membrane environment.
Consider the behavior of an oil droplet in water after it is punctured by a needle, the membrane
will flow and self-seal when the needle is extracted. This behavior also accounts for fluidity.

The structure of the fatty acid tails of the phospholipids is important in determining the properties
of the membrane like how fluid it is.

Saturated fatty acids have no double bonds (are saturated with hydrogens), so they are relatively
straight. Unsaturated fatty acids, on the other hand, contain one or more double bonds, often
resulting in a bend or kink. The saturated and unsaturated fatty acid tails of phospholipids behave
differently as temperature drops:

• At cooler temperatures, the straight tails of saturated fatty acids can pack tightly together,
making a dense and fairly rigid membrane.

• Phospholipids with unsaturated fatty acid tails cannot pack together as tightly because of
the bent structure of the tails. Because of this, a membrane containing unsaturated
phospholipids will stay fluid at lower temperatures than a membrane made of saturated
ones.

Most cell membranes contain a mixture of phospholipids, some with two saturated (straight) tails
and others with one saturated and one unsaturated (bent) tail. Cholesterol is another type of lipid
that is embedded among the phospholipids of the membrane. This helps to minimize the effects of
temperature on fluidity.

At low temperatures, cholesterol increases fluidity by keeping

phospholipids from packing tightly together, while at high
temperatures, it actually decreases fluidity. In this way, cholesterol
expands the range of temperatures at which a membrane maintains a
functional, healthy fluidity. (Campbell biology 2011 pp. 124-140)

Image credit: "Cholesterol," by

BorisTM (public domain).

Author: IRENE F, HAVANA

School/Station: Barobo National High School
Division: Surigao del Sur
email address: irene.havana@deped.gov.ph Page 4
Activity No. 1: Getting to Know Me

Objective: Identify and describe the structural components of the cell membrane.
What you need: paper and pen
What to do: Identify and describe the labeled structural components of the cell membrane in the
diagram below. In your answer sheet, copy the table below and write your answer.

C E

D AB
A B

AC

AD

Plasma Membrane Components Location Description (Structure)

A.
B.
C.
AB.
AC.
AD.

Activity No. 2: RELATE ME

Objective: 1. Relate the structure and composition of the cell membrane to its function.
What you need: paper and pen
What to do: Given the principal components of the cell membrane relate its structure to its role
or function. In your answer sheet, provide the needed information in at least two
sentences in the table. Refer to the rubric below.

Principal Component Description of Description of Relate the structure to

Structure Function its function
Phospholipid Bilayer
Protein
Cholesterol
Carbohydrates

Three points Two points One point

Explanation is scientifically Explanation is scientifically Explanation is not

consistent to the concepts, consistent to the concepts, scientifically
and has no but with one consistent to the
misconceptions. misconception. concepts.

Author: IRENE F, HAVANA

School/Station: Barobo National High School
Division: Surigao del Sur
email address: irene.havana@deped.gov.ph Page 5
Activity No. 3: MY ROLE

Objective: Explain how the components of the cell membrane contribute to cell membrane
fluidity.
What you need: paper and pen
What to do: Given the following components of the cell membrane, explain how each contribute
to cell membrane fluidity in at least two sentences.

Component of the cell membrane Role/contribution in the fluidity of the cell membrane
Phospholipids
Integral proteins &
peripheral proteins
Fatty Acid Tails
Cholesterols

Three points Two points One point

Explanation is scientifically Explanation is not

Explanation is scientifically
consistent to the concepts, scientifically
consistent to the concepts,
but with one consistent to the
and has no misconceptions.
misconception. concepts.

Reflection

Write a short reflection essay about the important role of cell membrane in keeping the normal
function of the cell. You may cite situations where you could apply its mechanism in real life?

Rubric for Reflection

5 4 3 2 1
Practical Practical Practical
Practical Practical
application is application application
application is application
scientifically is scientifically is not
scientifically is scientifically
explained explained scientifically
explained explained
consistent to consistent explained
consistent to consistent
the to the concepts, consistent
the to the
concepts, but but to the concepts,
concepts, and concepts, but
with with more than and with more
has no with one
o two two than two
misconceptions. misconception.
misconceptions. misconceptions. misconceptions.

References

Reece, J. B., Urry, L. A., Cain, M. L., Wasserman, S. A., Minorsky, P. V., and Jackson, R.
B. 2011. Membrane structure and function. Campbell Biology. San Francisco, CA:
Pearson.
Structural biochemistry/lipids/micelles. 2015. Retrieved August 19, 2021
fromWikibooks: https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Structural_Biochemistry/Lipids/Mi
celles.
Membrane fluidity. (2016, July 5). Retrieved August 20, 2021 from
Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Membrane_fluidity.
Modified from Cell Membrane. Retrieved August 20, 2021 from
http://cnx.org/contents/185cbf87-c72e-48f5-b51e-f14f21b5eabd@9.85:23/Biology

Author: IRENE F, HAVANA

School/Station: Barobo National High School
Division: Surigao del Sur
email address: irene.havana@deped.gov.ph Page 6
Page 7 email address: irene.havana@deped.gov.ph
Division: Surigao del Sur
School/Station: Barobo National High School
Author: IRENE F, HAVANA
Reflection:
Answers may vary
Activity No. 3.
Component of the cell membrane Role/contribution in the fluidity of the cell membrane
Phospholipids Have enough kinetic energy to overcome the intermolecular forces holding the membrane together,
which increases membrane fluidity.
Integral proteins & Exist in the membrane as separate but loosely-attached molecules
peripheral protein
Fatty Acid Tails If unsaturated fatty acids are compressed, the “kinks” in their tails push adjacent phospholipid
molecules away, which helps maintain fluidity in the membrane.
Cholesterol At low temperatures, cholesterol increases fluidity by keeping phospholipids from packing tightly
together, while at high temperatures, it actually reduces fluidity. In this way, cholesterol expands the
range of temperatures at which a membrane maintains a functional, healthy fluidity.
Activity No. 2.
Structure Description of Function How the structure fit its function
Phospholipid Bilayer Make up the bilayer They are amphipathic, meaning that they have both hydrophilic and
hydrophobic regions.
Protein Help the cell interact with its environment. It contains residues with hydrophobic side chains that interact with fatty
acyl groups of the membrane phospholipids, thus anchoring the protein
to the membrane.
Cholesterol Helps maintain flexibility of membrane Cholesterol functions as a buffer, preventing lower temperatures from
inhibiting fluidity and preventing higher temperatures from increasing
fluidity.
Carbohydrates Attach to proteins on the outside Along with membrane proteins, these carbohydrates form distinctive
membrane layer cellular markers, sort of like molecular ID badges, that allow cells to
recognize each other.
Activity No. 1.
Plasma Membrane Components Location Description (Structure)
A. Phospholipid Bilayer Main fabric of the plasma membrane It is a lipid made of glycerol, two fatty acid tails, and a
phosphate-linked head group.
B. Integral Protein Embedded within the phospholipid They have at least one hydrophobic region that anchors
layer(s). May or may not penetrate through them to the hydrophobic core of the phospholipid bilayer.
both layers
C. Peripheral Protein Found on the inner or outer surface of the They are group of biologically active molecules formed from
phospholipid bilayer; not embedded within amino acids which interact with the surface of the lipid
the phospholipids bilayer of cell membranes
AB. Fatty Acid Tails The fatty acid tails of phospholipids face Consist of a carboxylic acid group and a long hydrocarbon
inside, away from water. chain, which can either be unsaturated or saturated.
AC. Cholesterol These are attached between phospholipids It is another lipid composed of four fused carbon rings, is
and between the two phospholipids layers found alongside phospholipids in the core of the membrane
AD. Phosphate Heads The phosphate heads face the outward Composed of a choline structure and a phosphate.
aqueous side.
Answer Key