Diffusion and Osmosis
Diffusion:
➔ The net movement of a substance traveling down its concentration gradient. (high concentration to low
concentration.
➔ Diffusion happens when the net movement of molecules moves from a high concentration to a low
concentration gradient.
★ “Net” movement = overall movement
★ Molecules are constantly moving
★ Diffusion is a passive transport
● Does not need energy
➔ Example: diffusion of molecules in cells
★ The diffusion of oxygen into a cell is classified as a passive transport
➔ The concentration gradient is itself a form of potential energy
❖ Facilitated Diffusion
➔ When molecules still have a net movement of high concentration to a low concentration gradient.
❖ Factors that can affect the rate of diffusion
★ Distance
➔ The greater the distance that needs to be traveled the slower the diffusion rate.
★ Temperature
➔ The higher the temperature the faster the diffusion rate
★ Characteristics of Solvent
➔ The denser the solvent the slower the diffusion
★ Characteristics of substance traveling
➔ A substance with greater mass will have a slow diffusion rate
★ Characteristics of the barrier
➔ Small polar substances pass through the cell membrane easier than something big/polar.
➔ The surface area and the thickness of the cell membrane will also alter the diffusion rate.
➢ A large surface area and a thin membrane will allow faster diffusion.
Osmosis:
➔ The movement of water through a semipermeable membrane
➢ Like the cell membrane
➢ Water molecules are so small they can travel through the cell membrane unassisted
➢ They can travel in large quantities through protein channels like aquaporins
➢ The movement across the cell membrane is passive transport
➔ In Osmosis, water molecules travel from areas of high concentration gradient to low concentration
➔ A low water concentration means there is a greater solute concentration
★ Solutes are substances, like salt or sugar, that can be dissolved in solvents, like water.
➔ Water has the tendency to move to areas with higher solute concentration
➢ Water will have a net movement of higher solute concentration
➔ Hypertonic: Higher solute concentration
➢ The water inside the cell is more than the water outside so it gushes out
➢ In osmosis water moves to the hypertonic side
➢ Cells will shrink
➔ Hypotonic: Lower solute concentration
➢ The water inside the cell is less than the water outside the cell.
➢ The cell swells
➔ Isotonic: the water inside and outside the cell is the same to maintain stability.
Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L-osEc07vMs
Answer the Questions on google classroom:
1. Seawater has a higher concentration of solutes than human body cells. Why might drinking large
amounts of seawater be dangerous for humans?
- saltwater is hypertonic to the cells in our bodies. This causes water to exit our cells, leaving them
shrunken and shriveled.
2. What might happen to a grape placed in a bowl with highly concentrated sugar water?
- Sugar water is hypertonic to grape cells. This will cause the water to exit the grape cells, leaving
them shrunken and shriveled.
3. Using what you know about osmosis, explain what would happen to a jellyfish placed in a freshwater
lake.
- A jellyfish would die if it was placed in a freshwater lake. Salt water has more solutes than
freshwater, so a freshwater environment would be hypotonic to a jellyfish's cells. Water would
enter the jellyfish's cells, causing them to swell and eventually burst.
4.
