Cell Membrane & Tonicity Worksheet
Cell Membrane & Tonicity Worksheet
Cell Membrane & Tonicity Worksheet
DATE_________________ PERIOD_________
Another type of lipid in the cell membrane is ______________ that makes the membrane more fluid.
Embedded in the phospholipid bilayer are __________ that also aid in diffusion and in cell recognition.
Proteins called _____________ proteins go all the way through the bilayer, while ____________ proteins are
only on one side. Integral proteins are also called __________ proteins. Large molecules like ___________ or
carbohydrates use proteins to help move across cell membranes. Some of the membrane proteins have
carbohydrate __________ attached to help cells in recognize each other and certain molecules.
List 4 functions of the cell or plasma membrane:
a. _________________________________________
b. _________________________________________
c. _________________________________________
d. _________________________________________
Correctly color code and identify the name for each part of the cell membrane.
Letter Name/Color Letter Name/Color
_____ Phospholipid bilayer (no color) _____ Peripheral protein (red)
_____ Integral protein (pink) _____ Cholesterol (blue)
_____ Fatty acid tails (orange) _____ Glycoprotein (green)
_____ Phosphate heads (yellow) _____ Glycolipids (purple)
Match the cell membrane structure or its function with the correct letter from the cell membrane diagram.
Letter Structure/Function Letter Structure/Function
Use arrows to show the direction of water movement into or out of each cell. Color and label the cell in an
isotonic environment light blue, the hypotonic environment yellow, and the hypertonic environment light
green.
2
One type of active transport is called the
________________ pump which helps muscle cells
contract. This pump uses ___________ to move ions
__________ the concentration gradient. The protein
that is used to pump the ions through is called a
____________ protein and it changes its __________
to move the ions across the cell membrane.
Label and color the carrier proteins red and the ions
green.
Part II – Look at the solutions illustrated above and fill in the blanks.
1. Solution B is ______________________ to Solution A. This is because Solution B has a greater
concentration of ___________________ in it than does Solution A. Solution C has no solutes dissolved in it,
therefore it is _____________________ to both Solutions A and B.
2. As a relative concentration of solutes in two solutions increases, of necessity the concentration of water in
the same two solutions ________________. Solution A has a lower concentration of ______________ than
does Solution C; Solution A is also hypertonic to Solution C.
3. If you wanted to make Solution A isotonic to Solution B, you could add water to Solution ____ or you
could add solute to Solution ____. If you took all three solutions, put them into a large container and mixed
them thoroughly, then redistributed the solution among three containers, Solution A would be ________ to
Solution B. Solution A would also be _______________ to Solution C, and Solution C would be _______ to
Solution B.
Part III – Look at the solutions and cells illustrated above and fill in the blanks.
1. Because the cytoplasms of the plant and the animal cell have equal concentrations of solutes, we can say
their cytoplasms are _____________ to each other. If we put both the plant and the animal cells into
3
Solution A, we would expect no change in the cells, because Solution A is ___________ to the cytoplasm of
each cell.
2. Let’s put both cells into Solution B. Because Solution B is hypertonic to the cytoplasms of the cells, we
would expect water to __________ the cells through the process of ____________. This would result in the
cytoplasm of both cells shrinking.
3. Now we’ll put both the plant and animal cell into Solution C, which, because it contains no solutes at all, is
___________________ to the cytoplasm of both cells. __________________ will enter both cells through
osmosis. The animal cell is likely to ______________, unfortunately. The plant cell, however, is protected
from this because of the presence of its ________ _________.
Refer to the U-tube pictures above when answering the questions below.
1. Why did the number of water molecules on each side of the membrane change, whereas the number of
sugar molecules stayed the same?
2. How does the plasma membrane of a cell compare with the membrane in the U-shaped tube?
6. What happens to the pressure inside a cell that is placed in a hypertonic solution?
7. What can happen to animal cells when placed in a hypotonic solution? Explain.