Movement of substances into and out of cells

Cells need a supply of vital substances such as glucose, oxygen etc. for processes such as
respiration and need to remove metabolic wastes such as co2. Cell membrane plays an important
role in controlling the entry and exit of selective substances into and out of the cells. There are
three main ways that molecules and ions can move through the membrane. These are osmosis,
diffusion and active transport.

Osmosis – Osmosis happens when the total concentrations of all the dissolve substances inside
and outside the cell are different.
Hence, ‘Osmosis is the net movement of water molecules from a solution with a high water
potential to a solution with a low water potential through a partially permeable membrane.
Osmosis is important for moving water from cell to cell, for example in plant roots, for using it
in metabolic processes such as, in photosynthesis in plants.

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The partially permeable membrane in the above experiment allows water molecules to pass
through freely but not solute molecules.

Diffusion- Diffusion happens when a substance is more concentrated in one place tha another.
than

Diffusion is the net movement of particles or molecules or ions from a region of high
concentration to a region of low concentration, i.e. down a concentration gradient. The molecules
of substances move around because of its kinetic energy.

For example, carbon dioxide is produced by respiration, so its concentration builds up inside the
cell. Although the carbon dioxide molecules diffuse in both direction across the cell membrane,
the net movement is out of the cell, down the concentration gradient.

If a beaker containing water and potassium manganate(VII) is left to stand, the random motion of
both the water and the purple manganate(VII) ions will ensure that they are eventually evenly
mixed due to diffution.

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The rate of diffusion is affected by the following factors:

 Temperature- Increase in temperature increases the rate of diffusion. This is because, a

high temperature provides the particles with more kinetic energy.
 Diffusion distance- The rate is decreased if the distance over which diffusion has to take
place is greater.
 Surface area to volume ratio- A larger surface area in proportion to the volume will
increase the rate.
 Concentration gradient- Diffusion occurs more quickly when there is a steep
concentration gradient i.e. a big difference in concentrations between two areas.
 Stirring- It increases the kinetic energy of the molecules. Thus, the rate of diffusion
increases.
 Surface area- The larger the surface area the greater the rate of diffusion.

Active transport- It is the movement of molecules or ions against a concentration gradient,

using energy from respiration. Some examples include-

• Absorption of glucose from the gut into the cells lining the intestine.
• Absorption of minerals from the soil into the plant through the root hair cells
• Selective reabsorption of glucose and mineral ions from the kidney tubules into the
blood.

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Osmotic concentrations and type of sollutions

During osmotic experiments, cells are often immersed in solutions of different osmotic
concentration. The osmotic concentration of a solution is a measure of only those dissolved
substances that have an osmotic effect. Based on the osmotic concentration, the following types
of solutions are available:

Isotonic solutions- The osmotic concentration of the solute in the solution is the same as that in
the cells.

Hypotonic solution- The osmotic concentration of solute in the solution is lower than that in the
cytoplasm of the cells.

Hypertonic solution- The osmotic concentration of solutes in the solution is higher than that in
the cytoplasm.

Effect of osmosis in living cells:

 When an animal cell is placed in different solutions, the following events occur:
- In hypotonic solution- There is a net flow of water into the cell from the surroundings
by osmosis. The cell swells and eventually bursts due to the lack of cell wall.
- In hypertonic solution- There is a net flow of water out of the cell into the surroundings
by osmosis. Thus, the cell shrinks.
- In isotonic solution- There is no net movement of water in and out of the cell. The cell
remains unaffected. This means, the appearance of the cell does not change.

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  When a plant cell is placed in different solutions, the following events occur:

- In hypotonic solution- Water flows into the vacuole of the cell by osmosis causing the

cell to swell. The cell wall prevents the cell from bursting and exert an opposing pressure

that prevents net water flow into the cell. The cell in this state becomes rigid or turgid.

- In hypertonic solution- Water flows out of the cell by osmosis causing the cell and its

vacuole to become flaccid. The cell membrane is peeled away from the cell wall,

cytoplasm becomes constricted and the vacuole becomes reduced in size. The cell in this

state is said to be plasmolysed.

- In isotonic solution- There is no net movement of water in and out of the cell. The cell

remains unaffected. This means, the appearance of the cell does not change.

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Investigation into the effect of osmosis on a named plant tissue, such as potato
tissue

To carry out the investigation, the following procedure was adopted.

1. Cylinders of potato tissue were obtained from the same potato using a cork borer and
each was cut to a length of 5 cm.
2. Each was dried and then weighed.
3. Five potato cylinders were placed in each of seven different concentrations of solution
such as distilled water 1%, 2%, 3% and 4% sucrose solution and left for two hours.
4. The cylinders were then removed from the solutions, dried and reweighed.
5. The change in mass(+ or -) of each cylinder was calculated, and the percentage change in
mass for each was calculated as follows:
𝐂𝐂𝐂𝐂𝐂𝐂𝐂𝐂𝐂𝐂𝐂𝐂 𝐢𝐢𝐢𝐢 𝐦𝐦𝐦𝐦𝐦𝐦𝐦𝐦
% 𝑪𝑪𝑪𝑪𝑪𝑪𝑪𝑪𝑪𝑪𝑪𝑪 = 𝑿𝑿 𝟏𝟏𝟏𝟏𝟏𝟏
𝐒𝐒𝐒𝐒𝐒𝐒𝐒𝐒𝐒𝐒𝐒𝐒𝐒𝐒𝐒𝐒 𝐦𝐦𝐦𝐦𝐦𝐦𝐦𝐦
6. The experiment is repeated at each concentration then an average percentage change in
mass calculated for each solution.
7. During repeat, all other factors, such as temperature, age and species of potato, time
volume and concentration of the solution etc should be kept constant.
8. Plot the values in the graph-concentrations at X axis and percentage change in mass at Y
axis to find out the water potential of potato cells.

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