Unit 2 – Diffusion and Osmosis

2.1 – Diffusion, 2.2 – Osmosis, 2.3 – Active Transport

SUFEATIN SURHAN  BIOLOGY MSPSBS  2012

SYLLABUS CHECKLIST
Candidates should be able to:

a) define diffusion as the movement of molecules from a region of their higher

concentration to a region of their lower concentration, down a concentration gradient;

b) define osmosis as the passage of water molecules from a region of their higher
concentration to a region of their lower concentration, through a partially permeable
membrane;

c) describe the importance of a water potential gradient in the uptake of water by plants
and the effects of osmosis on plant and animal tissues;

d) define active transport and discuss its importance as an energy-consuming process by

which substances are transported against a concentration gradient, as in ion uptake by
root hairs and glucose uptake by cells in the villi.
 MOVEMENT OF MOLECULES
 For plants and animal cells to stay alive, molecules
must be able to move easily:
- from one part of a cell to another
- into and out of a cell
- from one cell to another
 There are two general types of movement of
molecules i.e. passive (without requiring energy)
and active transport (requiring energy).
 A permeable membrane allows all molecules (solute
Movement of molecules
or solvent) to pass through it.
 A partially permeable membrane only allows certain
molecules to pass through it but not others.
Passive transport Active transport  Diffusion of sucrose molecules occurs when a
permeable membrane separates dilute and
Diffusion concentrated sucrose solutions.

Osmosis

Diffusion
Diffusion is the net movement of ions or molecules
of a substance from a region where they are in
higher concentration to a region where they are in
lower concentration.
 The difference in the concentration of the
substance between the two regions is known as the
concentration or diffusion gradient.
 The steeper the concentration gradient of a
substance, the faster will be the rate of diffusion
for the substance.

 The rate of movement of molecules in diffusion

depends on several factors:
1. Steepness of concentration gradient:
The bigger the concentration gradient, the
faster the rate of diffusion.
Question:
Which set will have a faster rate of diffusion?
Set A: 0.5M glucose solution and 1.0M glucose solution
Set B: 0.25M glucose solution and 0.9M glucose solution
2. Size of molecules:
The bigger the molecule (= more mass /
heavier), the slower the rate of diffusion.
Question:
Which one will diffuse faster?
Glucose (Mr = 180) or Water (Mr = 18)
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 3. Temperature: 3. Respiration in animals requires oxygen. Oxygen
Molecules gain more kinetic energy at higher in inhaled air dissolves in the moisture lining the
temperatures. alveoli of the lungs, then moves through the
Question: walls of the alveoli into the blood by diffusion.
Which temperature will have a faster rate of diffusion of
molecules? 4. Carbon dioxide, a waste product of respiration
10°C or 25°C. is present in higher concentration in the cells
undergoing respiration. Carbon dioxide moves
4. Distance across which molecules have to from the cells, through the tissue fluid, into the
move/Thickness of a membrane: blood in capillaries and are then carried away.
The bigger the distance, the slower the rate of
diffusion. 5. Some of the products of digestion are absorbed
Question: from the ileum of mammals by diffusion.
Which one will have a faster rate of diffusion of
molecules?  The figure below summarises the materials into and
Apparatus E with a permeable membrane of thickness 1 out of a living cell:
mm
Apparatus F with a permeable membrane of thickness 5
mm.

5. Surface area to volume ratio:

The smaller the size of an object, the bigger the
SA : V ratio (= more exposed surface compared
to the volume inside) and hence, faster rate of
diffusion.
Question:
Which cube will have a faster rate of diffusion of
molecules:
Cube G with sides of 1.5 cm and Cube H with sides of 3.4
cm?

The importance of a diffusion

 Diffusion is important to all living organisms. The
basic activities that keep them alive depend on the
movement of materials into and out of the body.
 Below are some examples of diffusion in living
organisms:

1. Plants need carbon dioxide for photosynthesis.

Carbon dioxide diffuses from the surrounding air
into the leaves, through the stomata into the
intercellular air spaces of the leaf. This
happens because there is a lower concentration
of carbon dioxide inside the leaf because the
cells are using it up. Outside the leaf in the air,
there is a higher concentration of carbon
dioxide. Carbon dioxide molecules therefore
diffuse into the chloroplasts in the leaf, down
this concentration gradient.

2. Oxygen, which is a waste product of

photosynthesis, diffuses out by diffusion. There
is a higher concentration of oxygen inside the
leaf, because it is being made there. Oxygen
therefore diffuses out into the surrounding air.
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 Osmosis  The visking tubing represents the cell membrane. It
has tiny holes in it which allow only small molecules
Osmosis is the passage of water molecules across a to pass through. It separates a concentrated
partially permeable membrane from sucrose (a complex sugar) solution from water.
a dilute (higher water potential) to
a concentrated (lower water potential) solution.
 At the start of the experiment:
 Osmosis is a special case of diffusion in which water
molecules move from a region where they are in
high concentration (i.e. a dilute solution) to one
where they are in low concentration (i.e. a
concentrated solution).

 At the end of the experiment:

Demonstrating osmosis using a visking

tubing
 When molecules diffuse into and out of a cell, they
must cross the cell membrane. The cell membrane
is a semi-permeable membrane that allows certain
substance to pass through but keeps out others.
This property of the cell membrane is demonstrated
in the figure below:

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 Experiment 1 – To illustrate osmosis

 Study the U tube in the diagram above carefully. HYPOTONIC, HYPERTONIC AND ISOTONIC
 Arm A contains 5% sucrose and arm B contains an SOLUTIONS:
equal volume of 10% sucrose solution.
 A DILUTE OR HYPOTONIC SOLUTION IS A SOLUTION
 The partially permeable membrane allows only
THAT CONTAINS A HIGHER CONCENTRATION OF
small molecules to pass through but not the larger
WATER MOLECULES OR HAS HIGHER WATER
sucrose molecules.
POTENTIAL
 The 5% sucrose solution is more dilute than the 10%
 A CONCENTRATED OR HYPERTONIC SOLUTION IS A
sucrose solution.
SOLUTION THAT CONTAINS A LOWER
 Water molecules will move from the solution in arm
CONCENTRATION OF WATER MOLECULES OR HAS A
A where their concentration of water molecules are
LOWER WATER POTENTIAL
higher to the solution in arm B by osmosis until the
 ISOTONIC SOLUTIONS ARE TWO SOLUTIONS WHICH
solution in A and B are of equal concentration or a
ARE OF EQUAL CONCENTRATION
state of equilibrium reached.
 The level of liquid rises in arm B and falls in arm A.
 From experiment 1:
Hypotonic: Solution A (high water potential) is
hypotonic with respect to solution B (low water
potential).
Hypertonic: Solution B (low water potential) is
hypertonic with respect to solution A (high water
potential).
Isotonic: Solutions A and B in figure (b) that have
the same water potential are said to be isotonic.

WATER POTENTIAL:
 A measure of whether it is likely to lose or gain
water molecules from another solution.
 A dilute solution, with its high proportion of free
water molecules is said to have a higher water
potential than a concentrated solution.
 Pure water has the highest possible water potential
because water molecules will flow from it to any
other aqueous solution, no matter how dilute.

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 Experiment 2 – To demonstrate osmosis

PROCEDURE:

1. Tie a piece of cellophane paper over the mouth of the thistle funnel and secure it tightly with a rubber band.
2. Fill the thistle funnel with 5% sucrose (sugar) solution and mark the level of the solution in the funnel.
3. Lower the funnel into a beaker of water such that the liquid levels inside and outside the funnels are the same.
4. Observe and note down the level of the solution inside each funnel.

OBSERVATION:
The level of the solution in the thistle funnel rises after a few hours.

INTERPRETATION:
1. Water must be passing into the sucrose solution from the beaker
by a process known as osmosis. This is what happens when a
concentrated solution is separated from water by a partially
permeable membrane. A process similar to this might be partially
responsible for moving water from the roots to the stem of the
plant.
2. The cellophane paper is a partially-permeable membrane which
allows the smaller water molecules to pass through but not the
larger sucrose molecules.

Osmosis in living cells

 The cell surface membrane of a cell is partially permeable.
 Heat treatment and alcohol can affect the structure of the lipids and protein molecules making up the plasma
membrane. These result in loss of its selective permeability i.e. become fully permeable.
 In a plant cell, the tonoplast of the central vacuole is also partially permeable. The cell wall of a plant cell is non-
living, tough, slightly elastic and permeable. The cell sap in the large central vacuole of a plant cell is highly
concentrated as it contains a complex mixture of substances.
 Note: In living systems, the terms hypotonic and hypertonic apply only to animal systems.

Osmosis in animal cells

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Osmosis in plant cells

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 Active transport
Active transport is the movement of molecules or
ions from a region of their lower concentration to a
region of their higher concentration against the
concentration gradient.
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 Cells carrying out active transport contain
numerous mitochondria and have a high cellular
respiratory rate to provide the energy needed.
 The energy released from respiration is in the form
of ATP.
 Also, a living membrane is required as it has
proteins imbedded in it acting as carrier proteins.
 Examples of active transport includes:
1. Uptake of mineral salts in the form of ions in
root hair cells.
2. Uptake of glucose by cells in villi of small
intestines (ileum).
 An example of active transport for sodium ions is
shown below:
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