UNIT 3: MOVEMENT INTO AND OUT OF CELLS
HOW SUBSTANCES MOVE INTO AND OUT OF CELLS
Diffusion
Osmosis
Active transport
DIFFUSION
The cell membrane controls what comes in and out of the cell, may it be through
diffusion, osmosis or even active transport
Glucose
Proteins
Molecules that our body need such as glucose and proteins move into the cell to be
used in metabolic reactions or for storage
Carbon dioxide
Lactic acid
Waste products that need to be removed from the cell such as carbon dioxide or
lactic acid, move out of the cell into the blood to be excreted out of the body
BEFORE AFTER
In the above diagram, a cell is surrounded by nutrient molecules shown as black dots
On the left we can see that there are a lot more nutrient molecules outside of the
cell than inside
By diffusion, the nutrient molecules will move into the cell from higher to lower
concentration until the amount of nutrient molecules outside the cell are equal to
the amount of nutrient molecules inside the cell.
Diffusion is the net movement of particles from a region of higher concentration to a
region of lower concentration down the concentration gradient as a result of their
random movement
FACTORS THAT AFFECT DIFFUSION
Surface area: The larger the surface area, the higher the rate of diffusion
Temperature: As the temperature increases, the rate of diffusion also increases, this
is because at a higher temperature, the molecules have a higher kinetic energy
Concentration gradient: The higher the concentration gradient, the higher the rate of
diffusion, by concentration gradient, we are talking about the greater difference in
their concentrations
Distance: The shorter the distance, the higher rate of diffusion
OSMOSIS
Osmosis is the net movement of water molecules from a region of high-water
potential to a region of lower water potential through a partially permeable cell
membrane
Water moves in and out of cells by osmosis through the cell membrane, which is
partially permeable, this means that it will allow only certain molecules to pass
through
HIGH WATER POTENTIAL LOW WATER POTENTIAL
(DILUTE SOLUTION) (CONC. SOLUTION)
When referring to osmosis, we never use the term concentration, instead we use the
term water potential
So, if a solution has a lot of water, the water potential in that solution is high (dilute
solution) and vice versa for concentrated solution
ROLE OF WATER AS A SOLVENT IN ORGANISMS
Transport: Substances dissolve in water, so water acts as the medium in which
substances are moved around the body
Digestion: Once the food in our body is digested, the nutrients need to be moved to
the cells all over the body, it’s water that allows all this to happen
Excretion: Waste substances such as urea dissolve in water, this makes it easier for it
to be removed from the body through urine
INVESTIGATING OSMOSIS USING DIALYSIS TUBING
Beaker
Distilled water
Sucrose solution
Dialysis tubing machine
Dialysis tubing is also known as whisking tubing and it is a non-living partially
permeable membrane. The pores in the membrane are small enough to block the
large molecules such as sucrose from moving across the membrane, but allows
smaller molecules such as water to pass through by osmosis
Water moves from a region of higher water potential (Dilute solution) to a region of
lower water potential (Concentrated solution) through a partially permeable
membrane (Dialysis tubing machine), therefore, the water inside the tubing will
decrease as water moves into the tubing via osmosis
PLANT CELLS IN SOLUTIONS OF DIFFERENT CONCENTRATIONS
Adding cell into pure water or dilute solution
There will be a higher water potential outside the cell than inside the cell and
therefore water will move into the cell, as water enters the cell, they become turgid
or swollen due to the high-water content, an animal cell could even burst if too much
water enters
A plant cell has support from its cell wall and therefore, would maintain its turgidity
without bursting
Turgor pressure: Pressure on the cell wall from the cell membrane pushing it
Adding cell into concentrated solution
There will be a higher water potential inside the cell, than outside the cell, and
therefore, water will move out of the cell, as water moves out, cells become flaccid
or shrinks, a plant cell can become plasmalized if too much water is lost, this is when
the cytoplasm shrinks due to the loss of water, but the cell walls fail to shrink due to
its tough structure
IMPORTANCE OF WATER POTENTIAL AND OSMOSIS IN THE UPTAKE AND LOSS OF WATER
BY ORGANSISMS
Plants obtain water by osmosis through their roots
The water is important as it transports minerals and nitrate ions
The water also maintains the turgidity of the cells
ACTIVE TRANSPORT
Active transport takes place when osmosis nor diffusion can take place
ROOT SOIL
Excess nutrients
Root hair cells
Let’s suppose if a root cell in a plant wants to absorb nutrients from outside the cell
despite having a higher concentration of nutrients inside the cell, diffusion wouldn’t
work because the concentration gradient is going the opposite way
These situations are encountered frequently in plant root hairs and Villi epithelial
cells
Active transport is the movement of particles through a cell membrane from a region
of lower concentration to a region of higher concentration against the concentration
gradient using energy from respiration
Active transport uses energy to oppose the concentration gradient and forcefully
transport molecules against it
In the cell membranes of all cells, there are certain embedded protein molecules or
protein carriers that carry out this process
The protein basically captures the molecules from one side of the cell and it changes
shape in a way to transport the captured molecules to the other side of the cell,
energy from respiration is requited to alter the protein shape
COMPARING DIFFUSION, OSMOSIS AND ACTIVE TRANSPORT
Diffusion Osmosis Active transport
Movement of Particles Water molecules Particles
Condition High concentration Higher water Low concentration
to a lower potential to lower to Higher
concentration water potential concentration
(Down the (Against the
concentration concentration
gradient) gradient)
Additional Energy comes from Across a partially Energy requited
requirements kinetic energy of permeable cell from respiration
particles membrane
