Question

The permeability of a lipid bilayer for glucose is 10-8 cm/sec. Consider a cell whose glucose transporter is knocked out. If it is placed in a solution that contains 1 mM glucose, how many glucose molecules will enter the cell in 10 seconds? Assume that the cell contains no glucose and the surface area of its plasma membrane is 5 μm2.

a. 3000
b. 60
c. 600
d. 300
e. 6

Answer 1

The number of glucose molecules that will enter the cell in 10 seconds is approximately 3000.

Step-by-step explanation:

The permeability of the lipid bilayer for glucose is 10-8 cm/sec. To calculate the number of glucose molecules that will enter the cell in 10 seconds, we need to use the formula:

Number of molecules = permeability x concentration x time x surface area

Plugging in the given values, the number of glucose molecules that will enter the cell in 10 seconds is:

Number of molecules = (10-8 cm/sec) x (1 mM) x (10 sec) x (5 μm2)

Converting the units to cm2, the number of glucose molecules is approximately 3000, so the answer is (a) 3000.