3.
4 Diffusion and Osmosis
KEY CONCEPT Materials move across membranes
because of concentration differences.
3.4 Diffusion and Osmosis
Passive transport does not require energy input from a
cell.
• Molecules can move across the cell membrane
through passive transport.
• There are two types of
passive transport.
• diffusion
• Osmosis( specific to water)
3.4 Diffusion and Osmosis
Diffusion and osmosis are types of passive
transport.
• Molecules diffuse down a concentration gradient from
areas of high concentration to low concentration)
• Small lipids and other nonpolar molecules, such as
carbon dioxide and oxygen, easily diffuse across the
membrane. For example, most of your cells
continually consume oxygen, which means that the
oxygen concentration is almost always higher outside
a cell than it as inside a cell.
3.4 Diffusion and Osmosis
Diffusion and osmosis are types of passive
transport.
• Osmosis is the diffusion of water molecules across a
semipermeable membrane.
• it is important to recognize that the higher the
concentration of dissolved particles in a solution, the
lower the concentration of water molecules in the same
solution. So if you put 1 teaspoon of salt in a cup of water
and 10 teaspoons of salt in a different cup of water, the
first cup would have the higher water concentration.
3.4 Diffusion and Osmosis
Diffusion and osmosis are types of passive transport.
• There are three types of solutions.
• isotonic
• hypertonic
• hypotonic
A solution is isotonic to a cell if it has the same concentration
of dissolved particles as the cell. Water molecules move
into and out of the cell al an equal rate, so the cell's size
remains constant.
A hypertonic solution has a higher concentration of dissolved
particles than a cell. This means water concentration is
higher inside the cell than outside. Thus, water flows out of
the cell, causing it to shrivel or even die.
A hypotonic solution has a lower concentration of dissolved
particles than a cell. This means water molecules are more
concentrated outside the cell than inside. Water diffuses
into the cell. If too much water enters a cell, the cell
membrane could potentially expand until it bursts.
3.4 Diffusion and Osmosis
Some molecules can only diffuse through transport
proteins.
• Some molecules cannot easily diffuse across the cell
membrane.
• Facilitated diffusion is
diffusion through transport
proteins.
