All living cells are enclosed by a plasma membrane which is made of a phospholipid bilayer.It forms a physical barrier that allows the internal environment of a cell to have different conditions from the cell's external environment.The plasma membrane is selectively permeable and controls what substances move in and out of the cell.Bacteria and plant cells have plasma membrane surrounded by a cell wall.
Plasma Membrane
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Specification: AQA Biology (7401), AS-level, 3.2.3 Transport across cell membranes. Topic: Transport Across Cell Membranes.
Key terms in this lesson
- phospholipid
- A lipid in which one fatty acid is replaced by a phosphate group, giving a hydrophilic head and hydrophobic tails.
More in Transport Across Cell Membranes
- Phospholipids
- Proteins
- Cholesterol
- Glycolipids
- Glycoproteins
- Fluid-mosaic Model
- Membrane Permeability
- Simple Diffusion
All 22 lessons in Transport Across Cell Membranes · All AQA AS-level Biology topics