You Are Walking to School One Day When You Notice

question 136

Essay

You are walking to school one day when you notice an alien spaceship that has crashed in a nearby field.You and some other physiology students collect samples from the beings inside of the spaceship.First, you collect a liquid sample of what appears to be alien blood so that you can test for the concentration of solutes inside the alien blood cells.You then extract some of these cells, place them in various concentrations of glucose in water, then look at them under the microscope.Below is what happens to the cells when they are placed in various concentrations of glucose:
$$\begin{array} { | l | l | } \hline \text { Percent Glucose } & \begin{array} { l } \text { Condition of } \\\text { Alien Blood Cells }\end{array} \\\hline 0.02 \% & \text { cells lyse } \\\hline 0.05 \% & \text { cells lyse } \\\hline 0.10 \% & \text { cells lyse } \\\hline 0.12 \% & \text { cells crenate (shrivel up) } \\\hline 0.20 \% & \text { cells crenate } \\\hline\end{array}$$
Table 5.1
-Refer to Table 5.1.From cells located in another part of the alien's body, you find that the protein-to-lipid ratio of the cell membrane is about 20% protein, 78% lipid, and 2% carbohydrate.Assuming the aliens use their cells as Earthlings do, and have the same terrestrial physiology, what is the most likely function of these cells?

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Definitions:

Financial Leverage

A difference between the rate of return on assets and the rate paid to creditors.

Price-Earnings Ratio

A valuation metric that shows the relationship between a company's stock price and its earnings per share.

Dividends

Payments made to shareholders out of a company's profits, often on a regular basis.

Preferred Shares

A class of ownership in a corporation that has a higher claim on assets and earnings than common shares, usually with fixed dividends.