Question

what type of layering do phospholipids display in the cell membrane? monolayer bilayer trilayer

Explanation:

Phospholipids have a hydrophilic (water - loving) head and a hydrophobic (water - fearing) tail. In an aqueous environment (like the cell membrane which is surrounded by water on both the inside and outside of the cell), the hydrophilic heads face outward (towards the water) and the hydrophobic tails face inward (away from the water). This arrangement forms a bilayer. A monolayer would not be stable in a cellular environment as it would leave either the heads or tails exposed to an inappropriate environment (e.g., if it were a monolayer with heads facing outward in a cell - like aqueous environment, the tails would have no protection from water). A trilayer is not a natural configuration for phospholipids in cell membranes as the basic structure of the cell membrane is based on the two - layer (bilayer) arrangement of phospholipids.

Answer:

bilayer