Which process engulfs large particles by the cell membrane (endocytosis)?

Which process engulfs large particles by the cell membrane (endocytosis)?

• A. Osmosis
• B. Endocytosis
• C. Active transport
• D. Exocytosis

Answer: (B)

Endocytosis is the process by which the cell membrane wraps inward to engulf large particles from outside the cell, pulling them into a vesicle. This is how cells take in things that are too big to pass through channels, such as bacteria or other solid matter. When solid particles are taken in this way, it’s called phagocytosis, the cell-eating form of endocytosis; there’s also pinocytosis for liquids or small particles. Endocytosis requires energy because the cytoskeleton must rearrange to push membrane around the material and pinch off the vesicle. Exocytosis, by contrast, releases material from the cell; osmosis is the movement of water across a membrane; and active transport is a broader category of moving substances against a gradient, which can include endocytosis as a specialized, energy-dependent form.

Endocytosis is the process by which the cell membrane wraps inward to engulf large particles from outside the cell, pulling them into a vesicle. This is how cells take in things that are too big to pass through channels, such as bacteria or other solid matter. When solid particles are taken in this way, it’s called phagocytosis, the cell-eating form of endocytosis; there’s also pinocytosis for liquids or small particles. Endocytosis requires energy because the cytoskeleton must rearrange to push membrane around the material and pinch off the vesicle. Exocytosis, by contrast, releases material from the cell; osmosis is the movement of water across a membrane; and active transport is a broader category of moving substances against a gradient, which can include endocytosis as a specialized, energy-dependent form.