Determination of the tertiary structure of a membrane protein finds that the outer surface is composed primarily of hydrophobic residues. Which conclusion is most likely from this observation?

The hydrophobic residues functions as a binding agent for the protein to the membrane

Explanation:

The membrane is a phospholipid bilayer that consists primarily of fatty acetyl groups. The protein has hydrophobic side chains that interacts with those fatty acetyl groups, forming a bond that will basically have the the protein anchored to the phospholipid bilayer membrane.