Cell Transport Mechanisms and Pereability

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Cell Transport Mechanisms and Permeability Lab Report Introduction The purpose of these experiments is to examine the movement of substances across a selective plasma membrane. The plasma membrane is made to only let needed nutrients pass through and keep undesirable substances out. These experiment simulations look at substances that move through the semipermeable membrane in two ways, passive and active transport. Passive transport is driven by pressure or concentrations differences between the exterior and interior of the cell. Two key processes of passive transport are diffusion and facilitation. Diffusion is the movement of molecules from an area of high concentration to low concentration. Filtration is the movement of water and solutes through the membrane from a higher hydrostatic or fluid pressure to a lower one. Active transport on the other hand needs energy in the form of ATP that’s provided by the cell to across substances through the membrane. Substances that use active transport are usually unable to pass through by diffusion. There are many reasons why substances can’t move through using diffusion. Substances can be too large, not liquid soluble, or have to move against concentration gradient. The first experiment involves the simple diffusion of four different solutes, which are NaCl, Urea, Albumin, and Glucose, across different pore sized membranes. Simple diffusion is the diffusion of solute particles dissolved in water through a permeable membrane. With this experiment it can be predicted that the smaller solutes will diffuse from left to right or down the concentration gradient through a membrane with smaller pores to find equilibrium faster. The second experiment simulation depicts the different rates of facilitated diffusion of glucose with differing numbers of glucose carrier proteins in imbedded in the membrane. Facilitated

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