Question

In term of permeability, the cell wall and plasmalemma are

• A. Permeable and differentially permeable respectively
• B. Both semipermeable
• C. Semipermeable and differentially permeable respectvely
• D. Both differentially permeable

Answer 1

The correct option is A Permeable and differentially permeable respectively

• A plant cell is characterized by a cellulosic cell wall, which forms the outer boundary and is dead at maturity. The cell membrane is located inner to the cell wall and is living part of the plant cell.
• The wall is dead and hence cannot regulate the passage of solute and solvent molecules. Passage of substances across the wall depends on their concentration gradient and is a physical process.
• On the other hand, the plasma membrane is living and regulates the passage of materials. A semi-permeable membrane is freely permeable to solvent i.e., water but allows only selected solute molecules to pass through.
• Such a membrane is called as differentially permeable membrane.