Unit 2: Form and Function
Topic 2.3: Membranes and Transport Questions
Practice 20 exam-style questions for IB Biology Topic 2.3. Review the question stems below, then unlock the full Question Bank to access markschemes, model answers, and AI grading.
1Identify1 mark
Why must ions and large polar molecules cross a membrane by facilitated diffusion rather than passing straight through the bilayer?
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State the name of the bulk-transport process in which the plasma membrane folds inwards to bring large material into the cell.
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A cell is placed in a solution and its mass steadily decreases over the next four minutes.
State the net direction of water movement across the plasma membrane.
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Which protein uses energy from ATP to move particles against their concentration gradient?
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A membrane component carries a carbohydrate chain on the outer surface and acts as an identity tag for the cell.
Which component is it?
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2026
Draw a labelled diagram of a phospholipid bilayer.
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On a labelled fluid mosaic diagram, which region of the membrane is hydrophilic?
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What is the basic structure of a cell membrane?
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State whether facilitated diffusion uses the cell's energy (ATP), and explain your answer in one phrase.
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In simple diffusion and osmosis, which way do particles move on their own, and what does this require from the cell?
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A glucose molecule moves from a region of high glucose concentration to a region of low glucose concentration through a membrane protein.
No ATP is used.
What is this process?
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Which type of molecule is UNABLE to cross the phospholipid bilayer directly and must instead be moved by bulk transport?
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State the name of the membrane component that carries a carbohydrate chain on the outer surface and is responsible for cell recognition.
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State the name given to a membrane protein that uses ATP to move particles against their concentration gradient.
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Which molecule crosses the plasma membrane most easily by simple diffusion, passing straight through the phospholipid bilayer?
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What happens to the ion gradients kept by the sodium-potassium pump if the cell is deprived of ATP?
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Per molecule of ATP used, how many ions does the sodium-potassium pump move, and in which directions?
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Which three processes correctly classify ways that molecules cross the phospholipid bilayer?
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An egg cell is placed in a solution and its mass steadily increases over several minutes.
What is the net direction of water movement, and what does this show about the solution?
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Steroid hormones such as oestradiol are non-polar and lipid-soluble.
Explain how a non-polar steroid hormone is able to cross the phospholipid bilayer of a plasma membrane by simple diffusion.
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