B2.1 Membranes and membrane transport

Membranes and membrane transport link bilayer structure, membrane proteins, selective permeability, gradients, and vesicle movement to cellular control; Students connect membrane structure to transport mechanisms across cellular boundaries.

What you’ll learn

10 learning objectives

Choose one objective for a focused lesson, or study the complete topic.

Exam analysis

An aggregate view of how the complete B2.1 Membranes and membrane transport appears across past papers.

Chance of appearing36%of analysed past papers

Latest appearanceNovember 2025

Most common paperPaper2

Most tested objectives

B2.1.10—Fluid mosaic model14 questions
B2.1.6—Channel proteins10 questions
B2.1.4—Integral and peripheral proteins9 questions

Common question formats

Structured response
Comparison
Process explanation
Definition or recall
Diagram interpretation
Graph interpretation

Exam question appearances

November 2025Paper1A ["SL"] · TZ19[ 1 ]B2.1.7—Pump proteins

November 2025Paper2 ["SL"] · TZ33(c)[ 3 ]B2.1.3—Simple diffusion

November 2025Paper2 ["SL"] · TZ33(a)[ 1 ]B2.1.10—Fluid mosaic model

November 2025Paper1A ["SL"] · TZ13[ 1 ]B2.1.8—Selectivity in permeability

May 2025Paper1A ["SL"] · TZ29[ 1 ]B2.1.7—Pump proteins

Coverage 2010–2025 · Updated 15 Jul 2026