Which of the following describes how phospholipids are positioned in the double layer cell membrane?

Question

a. the phospholipids lie end to end phosphate head to fatty acid tail
b. hydrophilic phosphate heads face inside and outside the cell
c. hydrophobic fatty acid tails face inside and outside the cell
d. hydrophobic phosphate heads face into each other inside the cell membrane

Answer 1

The correct description of how phospholipids are positioned in the double layer cell membrane is:

b. hydrophilic phosphate heads face inside and outside the cell.

In a phospholipid bilayer, the hydrophilic (water-attracting) phosphate heads face toward the aqueous environments inside and outside the cell, while the hydrophobic (water-repelling) fatty acid tails face inward, away from water, towards each other.