Maris Stella High School Name: ___________________

GCE O Level Science Biology Class (Index No.): _____ ( )

2011 GEP Lesson 2 Date: ________________

Diffusion & Osmosis

SUMMARY
Diffusion – The random movement of molecules of one substance from an area
of HIGH molecule concentration to an area of LOW molecule concentration.
When more than one solute is present, the molecules will diffuse
INDEPENDENTLY of each other.

Before After
Osmosis – The movement of water from a dilute solution ( area of high water
potential) to a more concentrated solution (area of low water potential) across
a selectively/partially permeable membrane.  

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Molecules in a liquid, aqueous solution or a gas would have kinetic energy and
would be moving in random directions.
2. If there are more of a specific type of molecule in one region and less in
another region, you will find that the distribution of these molecules will even out
after some time.
3. This NET (overall) movement of molecules from the more concentrated region
to the less concentrated region is known as DIFFUSION.
4. The stage where the molecules are evenly distributed is known as DYNAMIC
EQUILIBRIUM. (DYNAMIC: Molecules are still moving in random directions,
EQUILIBRIUM: Molecules are evenly distributed)
5. This movement occurs spontaneously and does not require energy: PASSIVE
TRANSPORT.
6. A similar kind of movement occurs when water molecules are involved. When
this occurs across a partially permeable membrane, we call this process
OSMOSIS.
7. Both osmosis and diffusion occur DOWN a water potential/concentration
GRADIENT.
8. Water always enters and leaves the cells and bloodstream through osmosis.
9. For other solutes, eg. glucose, cells usually cannot just rely on diffusion to take
in glucose (as it only enables cells to take up glucose until equilibrium is
reached). Hence usually cells will sometimes pump in solutes using energy:
ACTIVE TRANSPORT. (Not in your syllabus)

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10. Main factors affecting diffusion/osmosis:
• Temperature: Increasing temp makes the molecules gain KE. More KE,
faster movement, faster rate of diffusion.
• Surface area of membrane across which transport of molecules
occurs: Increasing surface area means more molecules can cross the
membrane at any one time, this increases rate of diffusion.
• Gradient: The steeper the gradient (ie, the greater the difference in conc
between the 2 regions), the faster the rate of diffusion.

Revision Questions

1. Which two of the following can enter the root hairs of a plant from the soil?

(i) proteins, (ii) lipids, (iii) starch, (iv) oxygen,

(v) humus, (vi) water.

A. (iii), (v) B. (iv), (vi) C (iii), (iv) D (i), (ii)

2a) Do you agree with the following statement? Explain.

Osmosis takes place from a 5% sugar solution to a 10% sugar solution, that is
from a lower concentration to a higher concentration, so that both the
concentrations become equal. Thus osmosis is the reverse of the diffusion
process. [4]

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2b) Describe the development of turgidity in a plant cell immersed in water. [8]

(Write down the main points in this exercise will do)

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3) Leaves of a water plant are placed in solution P for 15 minutes. They are then
observed under the microscope. Fig. 3.1 shows the appearance of the cells.

cell wall
cell membrane

Fig 3.1

(a) (i) What is the state of the cells? [1]

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(ii) Describe what happens when the cells are placed in solution P. [2]
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(iii) If a red blood cell is placed in solution P, what will be the state of
the red blood cell? [1]
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4) The following is a graph that includes two lines: Line A shows the
relationship between the iodine concentration inside the algal cells and the
oxygen concentration in the water. Line B shows the iodine concentration in
the water and it is included for reference.

Line A
(Iodine
concentration
inside algal cells)
Iodine
Concentration
Line B
(Relative value)
(Iodine
concentration in
Oxygen Concentration the water)

a. Describe the trend observed in Line A. [1]

b. State and explain the process that has occurred to bring about the
observation stated in (a). [2]

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c. In another experiment, a potato strip was soaked completely in a 1% iodine
solution for 10 minutes. Predict and explain the most visible changes that
are observed at the end of experiment. [4]

5. Beetroot cells contain a purple pigment in their cytoplasm. In an

experiment, 8 strips of similar size were cut from a beetroot and thoroughly
washed with water until the water was clear. Two strips each were weighed and
then put into 4 different test tubes A to D, which each contains 5 cm3 of a
different liquid as shown in Table 2.1 below. The set ups were left for 30
minutes.

Test tube Temperature of liquid

Liquid inside tube
A 30% sucrose solution Room temperature

B Distilled water Room temperature

C Ether (colourless organic solvent) Room temperature

D Distilled water 900C

Table 5.1

(a) State and explain the change in mass of the beetroot strips in test tube
A at the end of the experiment. [3]
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 (b) State and explain any visible changes that may have occurred to the
strips in test tube B. [3]
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(c) (i) Account for the liquid in test tube C becoming purple at the end of
the experiment. [2]
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(ii) Suggest, with an explanation, whether the liquids in test tubes B

and D would also, likewise, turn purple like that in test tube C. [4]
Test tube
B:________________________________________________________
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Test tube
D:________________________________________________________
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 6) Potato cylinders were cut into discs of even thickness. 10 pieces were
weighed and then put into a petri dish filled with 0.1 mol dm-3 sucrose
solution. After half an hour, the discs were removed and blotted dry and
their final mass were measured. This experiment was repeated by
immersing equal number of potato discs at different concentrations of
sucrose solution.
The results were recorded in the following table:

Concentration of Initial mass Percentage change in mass

sucrose solution (mol (g) (%)
dm-3)

0.1 1.58 +13

0.2 1.63 +5

0.3 1.49 -4

0.4 1.52 -12

0.5 1.66 -20

0.6 1.55 -28

(a) Use the data in the first column and in the third column to plot a graph
[3]

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 (b) (i) What is the final mass of the potato discs immersed at the sucrose
solution of 0.6 mol dm-3? Show your calculation. [2]

(ii) Explain the results obtained. [2]

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(iii) Draw a labeled diagram to show the appearance of a potato cell

that had been immersed in the above sucrose solution. [3]

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