Prepare for the Foundations of Biology Exam 1. Dive into key biological concepts with multiple choice questions, hints, and explanations. Ace the exam with our efficient study methods!

Multiple Choice

What transports items in the endomembrane system?

In the endomembrane system, items are moved inside membrane-bound sacs called vesicles. These vesicles bud from a donor membrane (like the ER or Golgi), enclose the cargo, travel through the cytosol, and fuse with a target membrane to release or deliver their contents. This vesicular transport allows proteins and lipids to be shuttled in a controlled, directional way between compartments and to the cell surface, without exposing cargo to the cytosol. Cytosol is just the aqueous interior of the cell where reactions occur; it doesn’t provide the membrane-wrapped packaging needed to move cargo between organelles. Ribosomes synthesize proteins rather than transport them. Mitochondria are separate organelles with their own membranes and functions, not the carriers that move materials through the endomembrane system.

In the endomembrane system, items are moved inside membrane-bound sacs called vesicles. These vesicles bud from a donor membrane (like the ER or Golgi), enclose the cargo, travel through the cytosol, and fuse with a target membrane to release or deliver their contents. This vesicular transport allows proteins and lipids to be shuttled in a controlled, directional way between compartments and to the cell surface, without exposing cargo to the cytosol.

Cytosol is just the aqueous interior of the cell where reactions occur; it doesn’t provide the membrane-wrapped packaging needed to move cargo between organelles. Ribosomes synthesize proteins rather than transport them. Mitochondria are separate organelles with their own membranes and functions, not the carriers that move materials through the endomembrane system.