Science Buddies: "Ask an Expert"

Dear Science Expert,

I am conducting a group science project through Innovation Nation and we had a couple of questions regarding the basis of our project. In one experiment we are depicting how diffusion works in the gel-like sections of a cell such as the cytoplasm by putting dye on a piece of jello (gelatin) to see how long/far the dye diffuses. Our question is: What sort of things can diffuse into the cytoplasm of a cell knowing that the thing entering has to be a certain size?

Hello,
My suggestion would be to do some internet research as to the properties of a cell membrane. The cell membrane is going to determine which sort of molecules can pass in and out of the cell. Once you determine the properties that would be needed to pass through the cell membrane that should help you identify the types of molecules that can diffuse in and out of the cell.

Hope this helps get you started!

Hi Katie,

Thanks for your response! The idea of a selectively permeable membrane now makes perfect sense as to what can come into the cell part. My group and I have talked/researched more and our new question is: what other parts of the cell are gel-like (jello of our experiment) and receiving something (the dye)? Thanks again