Questions: 3. Students, when asked to diagram a simple cell membrane, many times draw the structure below. What is wrong with this structure? In other words, briefly explain why it is incorrect.

3. Students, when asked to diagram a simple cell membrane, many times draw the structure below. What is wrong with this structure? In other words, briefly explain why it is incorrect.

Transcript text: 3. Students, when asked to diagram a simple cell membrane, many times draw the structure below. What is wrong with this structure? In other words, briefly explain why it is incorrect.

Solution

Solution Steps

Step 1: Identify the Structure

The diagram provided is intended to represent a cell membrane. A typical cell membrane is composed of a phospholipid bilayer.

Step 2: Analyze the Diagram

In a correct phospholipid bilayer, the hydrophilic (water-attracting) heads of the phospholipids face outward towards the aqueous environments inside and outside the cell, while the hydrophobic (water-repelling) tails face inward, away from the water.

Step 3: Identify the Error

In the provided diagram, the hydrophilic heads are facing each other in the center of the membrane, and the hydrophobic tails are facing outward. This is incorrect because it does not align with the natural arrangement of phospholipids in a bilayer.

Final Answer

The structure is incorrect because the hydrophilic heads should be facing outward towards the aqueous environments, and the hydrophobic tails should be facing inward, away from the water.

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