1You are studying the uptake of nutrients into a bacterium u
1.You are studying the uptake of nutrients into a bacterium under acidic pH, neutral pH and alkaline pH. The table below shows the transport rate for nutrients under the different pH conditions.
Table 1. Transport rate for nutrients at different pH environments.
Compound
Acidic pH
Neutral pH
Alkaline pH
A
0.5 mM/ sec
0.6 mM/ sec
0.5 mM/ sec
B
60 mM/ sec
30 mM/ sec
3 mM/ sec
C
3 mM/ sec
30 mM/ sec
3 mM/ sec
i.From this information,
what transport mechanism is involved in the uptake of compound A and why?
ii.Compound B and why?
iii.Compound C and why?
| Compound | Acidic pH | Neutral pH | Alkaline pH |
| A | 0.5 mM/ sec | 0.6 mM/ sec | 0.5 mM/ sec |
| B | 60 mM/ sec | 30 mM/ sec | 3 mM/ sec |
| C | 3 mM/ sec | 30 mM/ sec | 3 mM/ sec |
Solution
Answer
i) Passive transport from lower concentration to higher concentration.
ii) Active transport from higher concentration to lower concentration.
iii) Passive transport from lower concentration to higher transport
