Notes: 8.

3 Cell Transport

LEARNING OBJECTIVES
● Explain how passive transport works.
● Explain how active transport works.

PASSIVE TRANSPORT
Cells use no energy to move particles
Concentration gradient: Higher concentration of solute
on one side of the membrane than the other
Higher to lower movement is with the gradient until no
gradient occurs dynamic equilibrium.

1. Diffusion
Overall movement of solute particles from a region of higher concentration to a region of
lower concentration

What do the arrows mean?

The way the molecules move.

How do the first and second images differ?

There are more molecules on the outside than on the inside of the cell, in the second image
shows more molecules moving into the cell than out of the cell.

Diffusion Results

Particles evenly distributed

Dynamic equilibrium:
movement does NOT stop; it continues in both directions, and the same
concentration is maintained on both sides of the membrane. (homeostasis)

How do you know equilibrium has been reached in the third image above?

The are two arrows going into the cell and two going out of the cell, and the molecules
both in and out of the cell are the same amount.
 2. Facilitated Diffusion

Requires transport/channel proteins

Random motion of particles brings them into the transport protein
Common in movement of sugars and amino acids.

Water diffuses through aquaporins because the lipids have

hydrophobic areas

Osmosis is the diffusion of water through a

selectively/semi-permeable membrane.

3. Selectivity of Membranes:
Lipid bilayer makes it difficult for changed ions or polar molecules to pass through by diffusion
because they are not attracted to the nonpolar tails.

H2O, O2, N2, CO2, and a few other small nonpolar molecules can diffuse directly across the lipid
bilayer.

4. Osmosis: Diffusion of Water

How osmosis occurs
Movement of water from higher concentration to lower
concentration
Selectively permeable membrane – sugar and/or water?
 Your Turn

Use the above diagram to answer the following questions:

1. Which side has the higher concentration of solute (non-water particles)?

Right side.
2. Which side has the lower concentration of water molecules?
Right side.
3. What do the white arrows in the figure represent?
Water molecules passing through the aquaporins.
4. Why are there more arrows pointing toward the right?
Because the right side has fewer water molecules.
5. Why are there no arrows showing movement of the sugar molecules?
The aquaporin only allows water to pass through it.

Osmosis is an Isotonic Solution

A solution in which the concentration of solutes is the same as the

concentration inside the cell

Water concentration is the same.

Still movement of molecules but no net gain or loss (no osmosis)

Still movement of molecules but no net gain or loss (no

osmosis)

If placed in an isotonic solution, a cell will maintain its shape.

 Osmosis is a Hypotonic Solution

A solution in which the concentration of dissolved solutes is lower

than the concentration inside the cell

If cell placed in hypotonic solution – osmosis will cause water to

move through the plasma membrane into the cell

Cells swell and internal H2O pressure increases called turger

pressure.
Animal cells – swell and may burst.
• Adaptation of some organisms – contractile vacuoles.
Plant cells can resist the turgor pressure.

WHY?
Because plant cells have a cell wall and animal cells have no cell wall.

Osmosis is a Hypertonic Solution

A solution in which the concentration of solutes is higher than

the concentration inside the cell.

Animal cells shrivel because water is leaving

cell.

Plasmolysis occurs in plants resulting in a plant

wilting.

Food for Thought

Cookbooks recommend not salting meat before cooking (why?)

It meats the meat tougher to chew and more leathery.
Your Turn : This image is of a tube with a barrier, and that sugars dissolved in water
are on each side of the barrier.
 1. How would you describe the concentration gradient of the sugar?
Unevenly distributed to the right side.
2. What happens to the concentrations on each side of the membrane as water
diffuses through? (Hint: barrier is permeable to water but not sugar)
The sugar moves from the left ide to the right due to the water rising in the tube.
3. Why does the water level rise in the right side of the tube and drop in the left
side?
The sugar molecules want to go the side with the more sugar molecules.

OSMOSIS SUMMARY

ACTIVE TRANSPORT
Cells USE energy to move particles

5. Protein Pumps
Transport protein bind with the substance to be transported

Chemical energy (ATP) is then used to change the shape of the

protein so the substance to be moved is released on the other
side of the membrane.

Once the substance is released, the protein’s original shape is

restored.

Substance moved against a gradient.

6. Endocytosis
Process in which cell surrounds and takes in material from its
environment
 Does NOT pass directly through the membrane 🡪 it is engulfed and enclosed by a portion
of the cell’s plasma membrane.

Phagocytosis – “cell eating”

Intake of solid matter by a cell
Ends with exocytosis.

Pinocytosis – “cell drinking”

Bulk intake of fluid matter
NO exocytosis

7. Exocytosis
Exocytosis expels material from inside the cell to the external
environment

Also used to secrete substances such as hormones.

CELL TRANSPORT SUMMARY