6. Gorter and Grendel\'s (Ch. 7 of text) classic conclusion that the plasma memb

Question

6. Gorter and Grendel's (Ch. 7 of text) classic conclusion that the plasma membrane of the human! erythrocyte consists of a lipid bilayer was based on the following observations: (i) the lipids they extracted with acetone from 4.74 x 10° erythrocytes formed a monolayer 0.89 m² in area when spread out on a water surface; (ii) the surface area of one erythrocyte was about 100 pm?, according to their measurements. Show (mathematically) from these data how they came to the conclusion that the erythrocyte membrane is a bilayer. Explain your answer. (5 pts)

Explanation / Answer

4.74 * 109 erythrocytes each with a surface area of 100 um2 equals 4.74 * 1011 um2 which is also equal to 0.474 m2.
0.474 m2 is close to half of the given 0.89 m2. Hence, we can say that these lipids must have existed as a bilayer. ANSWER

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