OSMOSIS AND DIFFUSION

PROCESSES BY WHICH SUBSTANCES ARE TRANSFERRED ACROSS CELL MEMBRANES:

Diffusion – the movement of any substance from an area where it is more concentrated to an
area where it is less concentrated.
Osmosis – is a type of diffusion that involves only the movement of water across a membrane
and therefore proceeds from the more dilute to the more concentrated solution.
Facilitated diffusion – moves substances in and out of cells from higher to lower concentrations
of a particular solutes
Active transport – moves substances across the cell membrane against the concentration
gradient, - from lower to higher concentration. This results in the accumulation of substances on
one side of the cell membrane.  ATP is required. AA movement from the SI to the blood is an
example of active transport. The Na-K pump is another example.
Phagocytosis – is the term used when solid particles are ingested. It is the process by which a
cell engulfs a foreign substance or body.
Pinocytosis – the pumping of water across the membrane. It is similar to phagocytosis, except
the smaller vesicles containing liquids are formed.

The exchange of materials occurs between cells and their environment, across the cell
membrane. To make this exchange as efficient as possible, some organisms have evolved
specialized exchange surfaces like the alveoli in the lungs, root hairs in plants, or the nephrons in
the kidneys. Depending upon what is being exchanged and which direction along the
concentration gradient things are traveling will determine whether diffusion, osmosis or active
transport will be used. Diffusion is the process in which particles spread out from each other.
They move from high concentration to an area of low concentration, down the concentration
gradient until they are evenly distributed. Osmosis is remarkably similar to diffusion but just for
water. It is the movement of water into or out of a cell. Again, it is the movement from a dilute
solution (so high concentration of water molecules) down the concentration gradient to a more
concentrated solution - so low concentration of water molecules. The water molecules move
across a partially permeable membrane.