Question

What property of oxygen facilitates its passage through the cell membrane?

a) It is ionic.
b) It is non-polar.
c) It is inorganic.
d) It is a gas.

Answer 1

Oxygen passes through the cell membrane due to its non-polar nature and can easily diffuse across the membrane through simple diffusion.

Step-by-step explanation:

Oxygen passes through the cell membrane due to its non-polar nature.

The phospholipid bilayer of the cell membrane is made up of hydrophobic tails that repel polar molecules and ions.

Small nonpolar molecules like oxygen can easily diffuse across the cell membrane through simple diffusion, down their concentration gradient.