Explain why the ultimate chemical nature of protoplasm cannot be determined.

 Protoplasm, or cytoplasm as others call it, is essentially all the fluid within the cell. Since a cell is a living organism, nothing is static. It is constantly creating chemicals and nutrients, and excreting waste. We only know that the protoplasm consists mainly of nucleic acids, proteins, lipids, carbohydrates, and inorganic salts. This is a very large and varied mix of materials and chemicals, which again is constantly changing because of cell activities, diseases, and environmental factors. Thus, it is impossible to find the specific chemical composition and nature of protoplasm.