Assertion: In the cell membrane, the nonpolar tail of saturated hydrocarbons is protected from the aqueous environment.
Elaboration: The nonpolar tails of saturated hydrocarbons are sandwiched between the bilayer of polar heads of saturated hydrocarbons. In this way, the tails are protected from the external aqueous polar environment.
Reason: The lipids are arranged within the membrane with the polar head towards the outer sides and the hydrophobic tail towards the inner part.
Elaboration: The phospholipid bilayer, which creates a stable boundary between two aqueous compartments, is the cell membrane's fundamental structure.
Phospholipid molecules, like many lipid molecules, are made up of hydrophilic "head" and hydrophobic "taiils".
Answer
When placed in an aqueous environment, the molecules create a lipid bilayer, or two-layered sheet, with the heads facing the watey medium and the tails sheltered inside, away from the water.
Final answer: a. If both assertion and reason are true and the reason is the correct explanation of the assertion.