Diffusion, Osmosis, Active Transport

Diffusion:

 Diffusion is the overall movement of particles from an area of higher concentration of particles to an area
of lower concentration.
 Diffusion occurs because of the random movement of the particles of a gas or of a substance in solution.
 All the particles are moving and bumping into each other and this moves them around.
 Although the particles are moving in both directions, there are more particles moving in the area of higher
concentration. Therefore, the overall movement is away from the area of higher concentration and towards
the area of lower concentration.
 Diffusion is a slow process but can be increased by a large concentration gradient and larger surface area.

Diffusion in living organisms:

 Many important substances move across cell membranes by diffusion e.g. in gaseous exchange.
 The oxygen needed for respiration passes from the air into the lungs, into the blood and then into the
body cells by diffusion.
 All body cells constantly respire and use up oxygen. Therefore, there is not much oxygen inside the cell.
This is described as a lower concentration of oxygen.
 Oxygen is constantly being brought to the cells from the lungs by the red blood cells. Outside the cell is
described as a higher concentration of oxygen.
 By the process of diffusion, oxygen moves from an area of higher concentration, outside the cell, to an
area of lower concentration, inside the cell.
 The same process is responsible for getting rid of excess carbon dioxide in the body produced by all body
cells during respiration.

Osmosis (a special type of diffusion):

 Osmosis is the overall movement of water molecules from an area of higher concentration of water to an
area of lower concentration of water through a partially (semi) permeable membrane.
 A partially permeable membrane only allows small particles to pass through e.g. cell membrane, Visking
tubing.
 A cell can be described as some chemicals in water inside a partially permeable bag. Therefore, water is
constantly moving into and out of the cell to keep the concentration inside of the cell balanced. Can you
think of why this is very important in living cells?
 Osmosis can also be defined as the movement of water from a dilute solution (more water, less salts/
sugars) to a concentrated solution (less water, more salts/ sugars), through a semi-permeable membrane.
 Osmosis in plants and animals:
 Red blood cells – when the concentration of body fluids is the same as the red blood cells contents, equal
amounts of water enter and leave the cells. If the concentration of the body fluids is higher, water move
into the cell, it swells then bursts. If the concentration of the body fluids is lower, water leaves the red
blood cells and the cells become shriveled. Both situations can affect the ability of the cell to transport
oxygen.

 Plant cells - depend on osmosis to keep the correct pressure inside the cell to maintain support for the
entire plant. When water moves into the plant cell, it forces the cytoplasm to swell and press against the
cell wall. In this swollen state the plant is turgid and keeps the leaves and stem hard and ridged. When the
plant loses too much water it begins to wilt and becomes flaccid. If water continues to leave the cell by
osmosis, the cytoplasm pulls away from the cell walls and the cell becomes plasmolysed. This process is
irreversible and the plant will die if it continues.

 Root hair cells – osmosis is responsible for moving water into the plant from the soil through special cells
called root hairs. Root hairs have special extension (hairs) which increase the surface area for osmosis to
take place. Water is constantly moving away from the roots hairs so that theses cells will always have a
lower concentration of water than the soil, therefore allowing water to move into the cells by osmosis.

Active Transport:
 Active transport is the movement of ions against a concentration gradient, i.e., moving ions from an area
of lower concentration of ions to an area of higher concentration of ions using energy to pump them
across the concentration difference.
 This process allows cells to absorb ions from very dilute solutions.
 The energy to carry out active transport comes from respiration; therefore cells that carry out a lot of active
transport also carry out a lot of respiration.

Importance of Active Transport

 Root hair cells - mineral ions in the soil are used to make plant proteins, but they are found in the soil in
low concentrations. By using active transport, the plant can absorb these mineral ions and carry out these
important metabolic reactions. The root hair cells use energy produced by respiration to pump the mineral
ions from the soil (lower concentration) across its cell membrane into the cell (higher concentration).

 Kidney cells - use active transport to move glucose into the blood from the kidneys even when there is a
higher concentration of glucose in the blood. This process is vital. If glucose is found in the urine produced
by the kidney, it means that person is diabetic.