A question

[dddd]

A baby hamster kidney (BHK) cell has a surface area of 3,400 micrometres². Assume that the endocyte clathrin-coated pits account for 2% of this area and that the surface area of a single coated pit is the same of that of a 100nm diameter clathrin coated vesicle that will be formed from it. If the cell surface has 100,000 transferrin receptors, around 70% are localised within coated pits, work out the following:

If a transferrin receptor has a cross-sectional area of 50 Angstroms X 100 angstroms (5x10nm), how many receptors could be accomodated in a 100nm clathrin-coated vesicle assuming that only 50% of the surface area can be occupied by proteins?

Edited November 6, 2011 by dddd

[Phi for All]

!

Moderator Note

Moved to Homework Help for the proper attention.

How much have you figured out so far? Let us know how much of the question you understand.

[dddd]

!

Moderator Note

Moved to Homework Help for the proper attention.

 

 

How much have you figured out so far? Let us know how much of the question you understand.

 

 

sorry i dont understand any of it

[Phi for All]

sorry i dont understand any of it

Are you unsure of how to set up the whole equation or just parts, like how many receptors are in each pit? Remember that 100 nanometers (nm) = 0.1 micrometers.

[Psycho]

What are you confused by, the biological nature of the question or the mathematics behind it?

 

As fundamentally it is a geometry question.

Edited November 10, 2011 by Psycho

[dddd]

im sorry im not as clever as you! confused.com