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.
ConceptLipid bilayer in fluid mosaic model
Cell membrane in past papers
6 questions from this chapter have appeared across 6 exam years.