2002 AIPMT Cell: The Unit of LifeCell membrane Easy Question 6 of 6 in Cell membrane

In fluid mosaic model of plasma membrane

A Upper layer is non-polar and hydrophilic
B Polar layer is hydrophobic
C Phospholipids form a bimolecular layer in middle part
D Proteins form a middle layer

The answer is C.

Solution

According to the fluid mosaic model (Singer and Nicolson, 1972), the plasma membrane consists of a bilayer (bimolecular layer) of phospholipids, forming the middle part of the membrane.
The polar, hydrophilic heads of the phospholipids face the outside and inside (water), while their non-polar, hydrophobic tails face each other in the interior of the bilayer.
Proteins are scattered in this fluid lipid layer like a mosaic: peripheral proteins on the surface and integral proteins partly or fully embedded. They do not form a continuous middle layer.
So the correct statement is that phospholipids form a bimolecular layer in the middle part.

Concept Lipid bilayer in fluid mosaic model

Cell membrane in past papers

6 questions from this chapter have appeared across 6 exam years.