Cell Membrane Transport Review Sheet

By Adam Berri, Eric Bao, and Leo Au-Yeung

1. Concentration Gradients (Pg. 60-61):
-Concentration: The concentration of molecules in a fluid is the number of molecules in a given
unit of volume.
-Gradient: A physical difference in certain properties such as temperature, pressure, electrical
charge, or the concentration of a solute in a fluid. Gradients break down unless energy is used to
maintain them.
-Concentration gradient: A difference in concentrations of solute across their membrane.
2. Transportation Across Membranes (Pg. 62-63):
a) Passive Transport:
-Simple diffusion: Diffusion of water, dissolved gases, or lipid-soluble molecules through the
phospholipid bilayer of a membrane.
-Facilitated diffusion: Diffusion of (water soluble) molecules through a channel or carrier
protein.
-Osmosis: Diffusion of water across a membrane that is more permeable to water than dissolves
molecules.
b) Energy-requiring transport:
-Active transport: Movement of individual small molecules or ions through proteins using
cellular energy (usually ATP).
-Endocytosis: Movement of particles and entire micro-organisms into a cell by engulfing them.
-Exocytosis: Movement of materials out of a cell by moving to cell surface and diffusing out.
3. Different Concentration Gradients (Pg. 64-65):
-Isotonic: Having the same strength; this is the usual concentration of extracellular fluid of
animals to the cytoplasmic fluid in each cell.
-Hypertonic: Having greater strength; solutions in which there is a higher concentration of
dissolves particles than a cells cytoplasm, causing water to leave the cell by osmosis.
-Hypotonic: Having less strength; solutions in which there is a lower concentration of
dissolves particles than a cells cytoplasm, causing water to enter the cell by osmosis.