Chapter 7 Section 2

Selectively Permeable

property of the plasma membrane that allows it to control movement of substances into or out of the cell

Phospholipid Bilayer

Plasma membrane layers composed of phospholipid molecules arranged with polar heads facing the outside and nonpolar tails facing the inside.

Transport Protein

protein that moves substances or wastes through the plasma membrane

Fluid Mosaic Model

a plasma membrane with components constantly in motion, sliding past one another within the lipid bilayer

Phospholipids

A molecule that is a constituent of the inner bilayer of biological membranes, having a polar, hydrophilic head and a nonpolar, hydrophobic tail.

Polar Head

part of the phospholipid that is attracted to water. (forms the outer part of the plasma membrane)

Nonpolar Tail

part of a phospholipid that repels water (forms the inner part of a plasma membrane)

Cholesterol

Part of the cell membrane that makes the membrane more stable.

Carbohydrate chain

Part of the cell membrane that identifies the cell