Question

the following is a Biology comprehension problem

4. Benjamin Franklin conducted carly experiments on lipids (1774). He poured oil on a pond and observed the following: "The oil, though not more than a teaspoonful, produced an instant calm over a space several yards square, which spread amazingly and extended itself gradually until it reached the leeside, making all that quarter of the pond, perhaps half an acre, as smooth as a looking glass." Based on Franklin's measurements of the spreading of this spoonful of oil, A. What are the dimensions of an oil molecule? B. What's the thickness of a cell membrane? Note: To begin your calculations, you should convert acre and teaspoon into SI units.

Answer 1

Based on Benjamin Franklin's experiment on lipids,

1/2 acre = 2000 m² teaspoon volume 1 teaspoon & 5cm3 ving the numbers above the thickness = 12.5um l Oil formed a single layer with thickness of several nanometers Dimensions of oil molecule .. as calculated by Franklin teaspoonful-ace 2 acre = 2000 m2 the calculations low value acheally didint do ☆ - he arrived at - but he thickness of a cell membrance - cell membrane composed of Phospholipids y acid tail group 10-20 Carbone long (tetrahedral orbital shape Lee = 0.126um x 4 mm Overall tail length = Inox Ice / (no. of carbon atoms)