Movement In And Out Of Cells

Objectives:
I. Diffusion:
1- Describe Diffusion as the net movement of particles from a region of their higher
concentration to a region of lower concentration (i.e. down the concentration
gradient), as a result of their random movement.
2- State the energy for diffusion comes from the kinetic energy of random movement of
molecules and ions
3- State that some substances move into and out of cells by diffusion through the cell
membrane
4- Describe the importance of diffusion of gases and solutes in living organisms
5- Investigate the factors that influence diffusion, limited to: surface area, temperature,
concentration gradient and difference.

II. Osmosis:
1- Describe the role of water as a solvent in organisms with reference to digestion,
excretion and transport
2- State that water diffuses through partially permeable membranes by osmosis.
3- State that water moves into and out of cells by osmosis through the cell membrane
4- Investigate and describe the effects on plant tissues of immersing them in solutions of
different concentrations
5- State that the plants are supported by the pressure of water inside the cells pressing
outwards on the cell wall.
6- Describe osmosis as the net movement of water molecules from a region of higher
water potential (dilute solution) to a region of higher water potential (concentrated
solution), through a partially permeable membrane
7- Explain the effect of plant cells of immersing them in different solutions of different
concentrations by using the terms: Turgid, Turgor pressure, plasmolysis, Flaccid.
8- Explain the importance of water potential and osmosis in the uptake and loss of water
by organisms

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 How do substances move into and out of cells?
 Diffusion
 Osmosis
 Active Transport
Diffusion
 Diffusion is the movement of molecules from a
region of its higher concentration to a region of
its lower concentration
 Molecules move down a concentration
gradient, as a result of their random movement.

Diffusion across the cell membrane

 For living cells, the principle of the movement down a concentration gradient is the same,
but the cell is surrounded by a cell membrane which can restrict the free movement of
the molecules
 The cell membrane is a partially permeable membrane - this means it allows some
molecules to cross easily, but others with difficulty or not at all
 The simplest sort of selection is based on the size of the molecules
 Molecules that our cell need such as glucose and proteins move into the cell to be used in
metabolic reactions and storage.
 Diffusion helps living organisms to:
- obtain many of their requirements
- Get rid of many of their waste products (eg; CO2 and Lactic Acid), they are
transported out into the blood to get excreted.
- carry out gas exchange for respiration

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Factors that influence diffusion
 Surface area
 Temperature
 Concentration gradient
 Distance
Surface Area
The larger the surface area the higher the rate of diffusion.
This is because more molecules at a given time are
diffusing.
Temperature
The higher the temperature the higher the rate of
diffusion. This is because the particles have
higher kinetic energy, so they move faster.
Concentration gradient
The higher the concentration gradient the higher the rate of
diffusion. This means the greater the difference in
concentration of particles, the fast the diffusing particles
move.
Distance
The shorter the distance the higher the rate of
diffusion. This is because the particles don’t need to
travel for too long to reach equilibrium.

Where does the energy for diffusion come from?

 All particles move randomly at all times
 This is known as Brownian motion
 The energy for diffusion comes from the kinetic
energy of this random
movement of molecules
and ions

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Examples of Diffusion

Example: Plants need carbon dioxide for photosynthesis; Carbon dioxide is just 0.04% in the
atmosphere, but still there is lesser volume of it in the plant cells. So, the atmosphere is the region of
higher concentration and the leaves are regions of lower concentrations.
Example: Oxygen is a waster product in plant. It diffuses from its region of production (higher
concentration) to the atmosphere where it is scattered (lower concentration).
Example: Diffusion is also used by insect pollinated flowering plants to send out the scent of the
nectar they produce to attract insects.

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 Osmosis
Role of water as a solvent in organisms: substances dissolve in water, so water acts as the
medium in which substances move around the body.
- Water is important for transport; dissolved substances can be easily transported around
an organism
- Digestion: Once the food in our body is digested, the nutrients need to be moved to cells
all over the body. Water is what allows this to happen.
- Excretion: Waste substances (such as urea) dissolve in water, and this makes it easy to
be removed from the body through urine.

 Water moves into and out of cells by osmosis through the cell membrane, which is
partially permeable.
- Partially permeable membrane means it is selective and only allows certain
molecules or ions to pass through it. It restricts the passage of molecules which
exceed a particular size.
 In the case of diffusion, the term concentration was use to refer
to the particles, and its movement. However, osmosis refers to
the movement of water molecules, and the term concentration
CANNOT be used as it refers to the amount of substance
dissolved in water. Another term is used and that is water
potential.
 High water potential: dilute solution (has a lot of water)
 Low water potential: concentrated solution (has less
water)
Osmosis: It is the net movement of water molecules from a
region of higher water potential (dilute solution), to a
region of lower water potential (concentrated
solution), through a partially permeable membrane.
- Cell membranes play a pivotal
role in osmosis as only water
molecules are allowed to pass
through the cell membrane
- Visking tube is an artificial form
of the natural cell membrane.

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 Investigating the effect on plant tissue in different concentrations
Adding a plant cell in pure water (dilute solution)
Higher water potential is found outside the cell than
inside the cell, and therefore water will move into the
cell, and the cell in turn become turgid (swollen) due to
the high water content. Unlike the animal cell it doesn’t
burst as it has support from its cell wall maintaining its
turgidity without bursting.
Turgor pressure: It is the pressure on the cell wall from
the cell membrane pushing upon it.

Adding a plant cell concentrated solution

Higher water potential is found inside the cell than outside
the cell, therefore the water will move out of the cell, and the
cell in turn will become flaccid (shrunken) due to the low
water content. A plant cell can become plasmolysed if too
much water is lost; this is when the cytoplasm shrinks due to
the loss of water but the cell wall fails to shrink due to its
tough structure, so the cytoplasm eventually tears away from
the cell wall.
Plant cell in solutions of different concentrations

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 Investigating the effect on animal tissue in different concentrations
Adding an animal cell in pure water (dilute solution)
Higher water potential is found outside the cell than inside the cell, and therefore water will
move into the cell, and the cell in turn will burst (lysis) due to the high water content.
Adding a plant cell concentrated solution
Higher water potential is found inside the cell than outside the cell, therefore the water will
move out of the cell, and the cell in turn will become flaccid (shrunken) due to the low water
content.

Lysis: Bursting of animal cell by osmosis.

Crenation: Shrinking of animal cell by osmosis.
Turgid: A plant cell fully inflated with water.
Plasmolysed: A plant cell that has lost water causing the cell membrane to be pulled away from
the inside of the cell wall.
Flaccid: A plant cell that is limp through a reduction of pressure inside the cell.

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The importance of water potential and osmosis in the uptake and loss of water
by organisms
- Plants obtain water by osmosis through their roots. Osmosis takes place at the
roots because of the difference in water potential between the soil and the inside
of the roots.
- Water is important for plants because it transports minerals and nitrate ions
- The water also maintains the turgidity of the cell; this provide support and
strength for the plant.

Active Transport
- It is used in cases where diffusion or osmosis cannot be relied upon.
Active Transport: It is the movement of particles through a
cell membrane from a region of lower concentration to a
region of higher concentration against a concentration
gradient using energy from respiration.
- Protein carriers in the cell membrane of cells
specifically carry out this process. They change shape
as they take molecules of water or nutrients from lower
to higher concentration. Energy is require to change its
shape.
Examples of active transport
Movement of nitrate ions: Root hair cells in plant roots use active transport to absorb
mineral ions (such as nitrates) from the soil – even though there are lower concentrations of
minerals in the soil than there are within the root hair cells.

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Movement of nutrients in the intestines: When there’s
lots of nutrients in the gut, they diffuse naturally in the
blood. However, sometimes there are less nutrients in the
gut than in the blood, so the villi cells of our gut use active
transport to absorb these nutrients against their
concentration gradient.

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