http://www.ck12.org Chapter 26. Biochemistry
FIGURE 26.19
A phospholipid consists of a head and
one or more tails. The head of the
molecule contains the phosphate group
and is hydrophilic, meaning that it will dis-
solve in water. The tail of the molecule is
a long carbon chain, which is hydrophobic
and does not dissolve well in water.FIGURE 26.20
In an aqueous solution, phospholipids
form a bilayer where the hydrophobic tails
point toward each other, and only the hy-
drophilic heads are exposed to the water.FIGURE 26.21
The phospholipid bilayer of a cell
membrane contains embedded protein
molecules which allow for selective
passage of ions and molecules through
the membrane.