Hi, I just need help in this Biochemistry practice problem from my book: We are

Question

Hi, I just need help in this Biochemistry practice problem from my book:

We are looking to find the ratio of monolayer area to cell surface:

The classic demonstration that cell plasma membranes are composed of bilayers depends on the following kinds of data:

The membrane lipids from 4.74×109 erythrocytes will form a monolayer of area 0.89 m2 when spread on a water surface.
The surface of one erythrocyte is approximately 100 m2 in area.

Show that these data can be accounted for only if the erythrocyte membrane is a bilayer.

Explanation / Answer

1µm2 = 1 × 10-12 m2

It is given that surface of one erythrocyte is 100 µm2, which equals 1 × 10-10 m2.

The surface area of membranes of 4.74 × 109cells = (1 × 10-10) × (4.74 × 109)

= 0.474 m2

The surface area of a monolayer = 0.89

The ratio of monolayer area to cell surface = 0.89: 0.474 = 1.88

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