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B2.2.8 (HL)—Golgi apparatus

The Golgi apparatus modifies, sorts, and packages proteins from the rough ER into vesicles for membranes, lysosomes, or secretion routes.

Syllabus
First assessment 2025
Objective
B2.2.8
Level
HL

Exam analysis

Chance of appearing1%of analysed past papers
Latest appearanceMay 2013
Most common paperPaper1
Typical marks1

Common command terms

  • Explain
  • Identify

Scoring notes

Common mistake
Treating the Golgi apparatus as the site of polypeptide synthesis.

Recent exam appearances

May 2013Paper1 ["HL"] · TZ230[ 1 ]B2.2.8 (HL)—Golgi apparatus
Practice this objective

Coverage 2013–2013 · Updated 15 Jul 2026

Golgi Modifies and Sorts Cellular Cargo

HL only

The Golgi apparatus receives vesicles, modifies their contents and sorts them into new vesicles for different destinations.

Different cisternae contain enzymes that alter proteins or lipids as cargo moves through the stack. Sorting signals direct cargo to the plasma membrane, lysosome or another compartment.

Follow cargo: arrival vesicle; cisternal modification; sorting signal; destination vesicle.

A protein processed in the ER can be glycosylated further in the Golgi and packaged for secretion.

The Golgi is not simply storage: its value is sequential processing plus destination-specific sorting.

Golgi apparatus

HL only

Assessment in practice

1 marks
How it is assessed

This objective is assessed through multiple choice, commonly using Explain / Identify.

Command terms

Explain / Identify

What earns marks

Build the answer around this relationship: The Golgi apparatus receives vesicles from the rough ER.

Watch for

Treating the Golgi apparatus as the site of polypeptide synthesis.

Representative question

Question 1

[Maximum number: 1]

The diagram summarizes the production and secretion of digestive enzymes in an exocrine gland cell of the pancreas.

Which cell organelle is involved at Y ?

A

Rough endoplasmic reticulum

B

Golgi apparatus

C

Lysosome

D

Ribosome

Link Organelle Structure To Function

HL only

HL structure-function answers should link organelle compartments to the process they support. Mitochondria use cristae, intermembrane space, and matrix; chloroplasts use thylakoid membranes, thylakoid space, and stroma. Protein export is a route: rough ER makes entry-pathway proteins, Golgi modifies and sorts, vesicles bud and fuse with targets.

  • Mitochondrion: cristae/inner membrane for ATP synthase, intermembrane space for protons, matrix for Krebs cycle enzymes.
  • Chloroplast: thylakoid membranes for photosystems/ATP synthase, thylakoid space for protons, stroma for Calvin cycle enzymes.
  • Secretory pathway: rough ER to Golgi to vesicle to plasma membrane or another target.

Concept essentials

  • The Golgi apparatus receives vesicles from the rough ER.
  • Golgi cisternae modify and sort proteins.
  • Golgi-derived vesicles can deliver proteins to membranes, lysosomes, or secretion pathways.
  • The Golgi apparatus is central to vesicle formation in the secretory pathway.