MOVEMENT OF SUBSTANCES (CHAPTER 3)

Concentration gradient is the difference in concentration between two regions.

The steeper the concentration gradient, the faster the particles will move ( the
faster the rate of diffusion is for that substance)
Diffusion is the net movement of particles (ions or molecules) from a region
where they are of a higher concentration to a region where they are of lower
concentration, that is, down a concentration gradient.
Diffusion is an important way by which oxygen and carbon dioxide move into and
out of cells. Plant cells such as root hair cells also take in oxygen and remove
carbon dioxide through diffusion.
Osmosis is the net movement of water molecules from a solution of higher water
potential to a solution of lower water potential, through a partially permeable
membrane. (it allows some substances to pass through but not others)
When a plant cell is placed in a solution of higher water potential, the cell sap
has lower water potential than that of the solution outside the living cell.
By osmosis, water enters the cell through the partially permeable cell surface
membrane.
The cell expands and become turgid. As water enters the cell, the vacuole
increases in size and pushes the cytoplasm against the cell wall. The cell does
not burst because it is protected by the inelastic cell wall. The turgidity of the cell
with water is called turgor. The pressure exterted by the water in the vacuole on
the cell wall is the turgor pressure.
An animal cell will swell and may even burst in a solution of higher water
potential than the cytoplasm. This is because, unlike plants, it does not have a
cell wall to protect it.
When a plant cell is immersed in a solution with lower water potential, the water
potential of its cell sap is higher than that of the solution outside the cell.
By osmosis, water from the vacuole and cytoplasm leaves the cell through the
partially permeable cell surface membrane.
The cell decreases in size and becomes flaccid or limp.
As the cell loses water, the vacuole decreases in size. The cytoplasm shrinks
away from the cell wall. The shrinkage of cytoplasm and cell membrane away
from the cell wall is called plasmolysis. The cell is said to be plasmolysed. A
plasmolysed cell can be restored to its original state by placing it in water or in
solution with higher water potential.
The cell decreases in size and become flaccid or limp.
Placing an animal cell in a solution of low water potential will cause it to lose
water. The cell shrinks and little spikes appear on the cell surface membrane.
This process is called crenation. An animal cell will become dehydrated and
eventually die when placed in a solution of lower water potential.
Active transport is the process in which energy is used to move the particles of a
substance across a membrane against its concentration gradient, that is from a
region where the particles are of lower concentration to a region where they are
of higher concentration.