Cell Membrane Labeled Diagram

A strip of the fluid mosaic, outside above and cytoplasm below: 13 parts to name.

Cell Membrane Labeled Diagram

Name Date

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1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13
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Write the name of each numbered part.Answer key

  1. Phospholipid bilayer
  2. Hydrophilic head
  3. Hydrophobic tails
  4. Cholesterol
  5. Integral protein
  6. Channel protein
  7. Carrier protein
  8. Peripheral protein
  9. Glycoprotein
  10. Glycolipid
  11. Cytoskeleton filaments
  12. Extracellular fluid (outside the cell)
  13. Cytoplasm (inside the cell)

Drawn for this site by script, 2026-09-26. Licence: own work.

Each numbered ring is a button. Use the arrow keys to move between them and Enter to choose. Names are read out in Study, and once a part is answered.

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All 13 parts on the diagram

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Start here: 6 main parts 6

  1. Phospholipid bilayer Two layers of phospholipids, the main fabric of the membrane. Tails face in and heads face out.
  2. Hydrophilic head The water-loving head of a phospholipid, a phosphate group on glycerol. Heads face the water on both sides.
  3. Hydrophobic tails Two fatty acid chains that avoid water. So they face each other in the core of the membrane.
  4. Integral protein A protein built right into the membrane. Its water-avoiding middle is held in the bilayer's core.
  5. Channel protein A protein with a passage that lets specific ions or water through. Some are always open, others are gated.
  6. Glycoprotein A protein with a carbohydrate chain attached, facing outside. It helps cells recognise each other.

Lipids: 4 1

  1. Cholesterol A lipid of four fused carbon rings. It sits alongside the phospholipids in the membrane's core.

Proteins: 5 2

  1. Carrier protein A protein that binds a substance and helps it across the membrane.
  2. Peripheral protein A protein on one face of the membrane, not built in. It is attached to an integral protein or to phospholipids.

Around the membrane: 4 4

  1. Glycolipid A lipid with a carbohydrate chain attached, on the outer face only.
  2. Cytoskeleton filaments Protein fibres inside the cell. Membrane proteins can serve as their attachment points.
  3. Extracellular fluid (outside the cell) The fluid outside the cell. Carbohydrate chains face this side only.
  4. Cytoplasm (inside the cell) The inside of the cell, where the cytoskeleton and peripheral proteins sit.

How this list was compiled: Read 2026-09-26. OpenStax Biology 2e, section 5.1 Components and Structure, https://openstax.org/books/biology-2e/pages/5-1-components-and-structure : the fluid mosaic model of phospholipids, cholesterol, proteins and carbohydrates; a phospholipid as glycerol, two fatty acids and a phosphate-linked head; hydrophilic heads facing out and hydrophobic tails facing each other in a lipid bilayer; cholesterol of four fused carbon rings alongside the phospholipids in the core; integral proteins integrated into the membrane with hydrophobic membrane-spanning regions; peripheral proteins on the exterior and interior surfaces attached to integral proteins or phospholipids, serving as enzymes, cytoskeleton attachments or recognition sites; carbohydrates only on the exterior surface, forming glycoproteins and glycolipids, together the glycocalyx, used in cell recognition. Section 5.2 Passive Transport, https://openstax.org/books/biology-2e/pages/5-2-passive-transport : channel proteins, specific, open at all times or gated, aquaporins passing water; carrier proteins binding a substance and aiding its diffusion. Licence: own work

The drawing: Drawn for this site by script, 2026-09-26. Own work, nothing traced. Licence: own work

How it works

A cell membrane labeled diagram of the fluid mosaic model: the phospholipid bilayer, the proteins built into and stuck onto it, and the sugar chains on its outer face. Start with the 6 main parts.

Read the full guide

Parts of a phospholipid

Each phospholipid has a water-loving head and two water-avoiding fatty acid tails. In water they form two layers with the tails inside and the heads facing out on both sides: the bilayer. Cholesterol sits among the tails.

Types of membrane proteins

Integral proteins are built through the bilayer; channel and carrier proteins are kinds that move substances across it. Peripheral proteins sit on one face. A glycoprotein carries a sugar chain on the outside, like a glycolipid.

  • Sugar chains point outward only: if a bead chain is on a molecule, you are looking at the outside of the cell.

Questions and answers

Why is it called the fluid mosaic model?

Because the membrane is a mosaic of phospholipids, cholesterol, proteins and carbohydrates that together give it a fluid character.

What is the difference between integral and peripheral proteins?

Integral proteins are built into the membrane, their middle held in the bilayer's core. Peripheral proteins sit on one face, attached to integral proteins or phospholipids.

What does a channel protein do?

It forms a passage that lets specific ions or water across the membrane. Some channels are always open; others are gated and open only when signalled.

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