Q.Keeping in view the fluid mosaic model for the structure of cell membrane, which one of the following statements is correct with respect to the movement of lipids and proteins from one lipid monolayer to the other

Step 1. Recall what 'flip-flop' means. In the Fluid Mosaic Model, flip-flop (or flip-flopping) is the vertical movement of a membrane component from one layer (monolayer) of the phospholipid bilayer across to the other layer. This is a distinct, much slower kind of movement than the fast lateral diffusion of a lipid molecule within its own layer.

Step 2. Eliminate options (a) and (b). Option (a), that neither lipids nor proteins can flip-flop, is wrong because phospholipids genuinely do show this movement, just slowly. Option (b), that both lipids and proteins can flip-flop, is wrong because membrane proteins essentially cannot undergo this movement at all.

Step 3. Eliminate option (d). Option (d) reverses the correct pairing - it claims proteins can flip-flop while lipids cannot, which is the exact opposite of what the model describes. …

Recall the flip-flop asymmetry the Fluid Mosaic Model describes and match it against each o …

• Assuming lipids and proteins behave identically simply because they are both embedded in the same bilayer. …