Assignment Topic

Osmotic Pressure and Its Application

Submitted To
Mam Ayesha

Submitted By
Usman Hussain

Roll no
855872

Semester
BS-Botany 4th (evening)

GOVT POST GRADUATE COLLEGE SAMUNDRI

Osmotic Pressure
Definition:
Osmosis is referred to as the net transportation of solvent molecules between two
solutions with different concentrations separated by a semipermeable membrane which is only
permeable to the relatively smaller solvent molecules but impermeable to the larger solute
molecules or ions. Osmosis in a U-shaped tube

Overview
The osmosis phenomenon, stemming from
biological systems with biological semipermeable
membrane, initially represents a nature net transport of
solvent molecules from a region of higher water chemical potential (e.g., dilute solution) to a
region of lower water chemical potential (e.g., concentrate solution). The driving force is the
pure chemical potential difference, i.e., osmotic pressure difference, across the membrane. In
1960, a kind of flat sheet asymmetric cellulose acetate semipermeable membrane was firstly
casted by Loeb and Srinivasa with competitive flux property, which led to a rapid
progress.Osmotic pressure is the minimum pressure which needs to be applied to
a solution to prevent the inward flow of its pure solvent across a semipermeable membrane.
[1]
 It is also defined as the measure of the tendency of a solution to take in a pure solvent
by osmosis. Potential osmotic pressure is the maximum osmotic pressure that could develop
in a solution if it were separated from its pure solvent by a semipermeable
membrane.Osmosis occurs when two solutions containing different concentrations of solute
are separated by a selectively permeable membrane. Solvent molecules pass preferentially
through the membrane from the low-concentration solution to the solution with higher solute
concentration. The transfer of solvent molecules will continue until equilibrium is attained.
There are two types of osmosis: endosmosis and exosmosis.

 When a substance is placed in a hypotonic solution, the solvent molecules will move
into the cell, and the cell becomes turgid or undergoes deplasmolysis. This is known
as endosmosis.
 When a substance is placed in a hypertonic solution, the solvent molecules will move
out of the cell, and the cell becomes flaccid or undergoes plasmolysis. This is known
as exosmosis
 Osmotic pressure can be thought of as the pressure that would be required to stop
water from diffusing through a barrier by osmosis. In other words, it refers to how
hard the water would “push” to get through the barrier in order to diffuse to the other
side.
 Osmotic pressure is determined by solute concentration – water will “try harder” to
diffuse into an area with a high concentration of a solute, such as a salt, than into an
area with a low concentration.
 In reality of course, osmotic pressure is not a “desire” of water to move, but rather an
extension of the natural law that all matter will become randomly distributed over
time. When the concentrations of substances are different in two areas and the areas
have contact with each other, the random motion of particles will cause the substances
to diffuse until the solution is uniform throughout the whole area.
 Osmosis is the particular diffusion of water through a semi-permeable membrane. So
in the case of osmosis, the solutes cannot move because they cannot pass through the
membrane. However, the water can move, and it does – passing through the
membrane to an area with higher solute concentration
 This can cause the total volume of water on each side of the membrane to change: the
side of the membrane with more solutes may end up with much more water. This can
lead to problems for cells, such as bursting (if too much water moves into the cell), or
becoming dehydrate (if too much water moves out).
 This is a very important factor in biology because the intracellular environment is
different from the extracellular environment. If the extracellular environment changes,
it may cause water to flow into or our of cells.
 Some organisms, such as plants that use osmotic pressure to move water, have taken
advantage of this principle. But it can also threaten the health of cells and organisms
when there is too much or too little water in the extracellular environment compared
to the inside of the cell.

Osmotic Pressure Equation

 Osmotic pressure can be calculated using the following equation:

Π = MRT

In this equation:π Importantly, π does not equal 3.14… in this equation! Instead, here
“π” is the symbol used to denote osmotic pressure. You can think of this equation as solving
for“π” just like solving for X. There is nothing special about the symbol “π” except that it is
the symbol which chemists have internationally agreed upon to mean osmotic pressure.

M is the molar concentration of the solute. Molar concentration refers to the actual
number of atoms, ions, or molecules of the solute. This is important because it is the number
of particles that determine how the particles interact in osmosis – not the volume or weight.
How much a mole – a unit of measurement of particles – weighs, or how much volume it
takes up, will vary depending on the molecular weight and density of the solute.

R is the ideal gas constant. Although the ideal gas constant was created to refer to
gasses and how they diffuse and behave, it also applies to liquids. In chemistry, both liquids
and gases are considered “fluids” – particles that are able to diffuse freely, as opposed to
solids, whose particles are held in place by strong bonds.

T is the temperature in degrees Kelvin. One degree Kelvin is the same as one degree
Celsius – but there is an important difference between the two measuring systems.
Temperature is a measure of the energy in molecules. At higher temperatures, molecules
move faster; at lower temperatures, they move slower. This is why temperature is so
important to this equation: the faster particles are undergoing random molecular motion, the
faster they will diffuse. In Celsius “zero degrees” is considered to be the freezing point of
water. This is an arbitrary number that was picked by scientists because freezing water is a
common phenomenon. Celsius temperatures can be positive (above zero) or negative (below
zero). But in Kelvin, “zero degrees” is the temperature at which no molecular motion occurs.
This is actually absolute zero – it is impossible to get colder than “no molecular motion.” As
a result, Kelvin is used in many chemistry equations, because it is an absolute measure of
heat. If a substance is at 300 degrees Kelvin, you know exactly how much heat is in the
substance: 300 Kelvins total.

This is much better for scientists than calculating based on Celsius, and having to
figure out how much heat is in water at “-30 Celsius,” for example.
 Fun fact: absolute zero – zero Kelvin – is -273.15 degrees Celsius. Another way to
say that is that zero degrees Celsius – the freezing point of water – occurs at 273.15 Kelvins.

Examples of Osmotic Pressure

Wilting Plants

Many plants actually use osmotic pressure to maintain the shape of their stems
and leaves. If you have kept potted plants, you probably know that your plants can
become very wilted very quickly if they are not watered. But within just minutes of
watering, they can perk right back up! This is because the stems and leaves of many
plants are essentially “inflated” by osmotic pressure – the salts in the cells cause water to
be drawn in through osmosis, making the cell plump and firm. If not enough water is
available, the plant will wilt because its cells are becoming “deflated.” In scientific terms,
they are “hypertonic” – which means “the concentration of solute is too high.” Plants can
also demonstrate the power of osmotic pressure as they grow. You may have seen plants
springing up through asphalt, or tree roots growing through bricks or concrete. This, too,
is made possible by osmotic pressure: as plants grow, their cells draw in more water. The
slow but inexorable pressure of water moving through the plant cell’s membranes can
actually push through asphalt!

Effects of Dehydration – And Overhydration

We all know the dangers of dehydration, where lack of water can cause
dangerous effects in our body. What we might not realize is that these effects are directly
related to osmotic pressure. When our bodies don’t have enough water, water can actually
move out of our cells into our blood. This can cause the concentrations of salts and other
solutes in our cells to become too high, interfering with cellular function. When we drink
water, the water enters the body through our bloodstreams, and is able to diffuse back into
our cells through osmosis, restoring their proper function. The opposite is also possible: it
is actually possible to die from drinking too much water. It is hard to accidentally
“overdose” on water, but in extreme cases such as water-drinking contests, it is possible
to drink so much water that too much of it diffuses into your cells. In extreme cases this
can cause swelling of the brain. Rapid rehydration after severe dehydration can be
 dangerous for the same reason. It is advised to undertake rehydration slowly, because
filling dehydrated cells suddenly with large volumes of water can cause them to burst!
The graphic below shows how dehydration – or overhydration – can affect our blood cells
by causing them to shrivel or burst:

Related Biology Terms

Diffusion – A process by which fluids and solutes become evenly distributed through
random molecular motion.

Temperature – A measure of the average kinetic energy of particles in a substance.

“Warmer” substances have more particle motion, while “cooler” substances have less.

Water – The “universal solvent” upon which life on Earth is based. Water’s unique
properties make it an ideal carrier for the molecules of life such as sugars, amino acids,
and nucleic acids.

Osmotic pressure is the basis of filtering ("reverse osmosis"), a process commonly used in
water purification. ... Part of the chamber opens to a differentially permeable membrane
that lets water molecules through, but not the solute particles.

Transport in plants: The roots of the plants absorb water and from the roots water travel to
different parts of plants. Every root acts as a semipermeable barrier, which allows water
molecules to transfer from high concentration (soil) to low concentration (roots)

An excellent example of a semipermeable membrane is that inside the shell of

an egg. After shell removal is accomplished with acetic acid, the membrane around the
egg can be used to demonstrate osmosis. Karo syrup is essentially pure sugar, with very
little water in it, so its osmotic pressure is very low

Applications:

Osmotic pressure on red blood cells. Osmotic pressure

measurement may be used for the determination
of molecular weights. Osmotic pressure is an important factor affecting
cells. Osmoregulation is the homeostasis mechanism of an organism to reach balance in
osmotic pressure.

 Hypertonicity is the presence of a solution that causes cells to shrink.

 Hypotonicity is the presence of a solution that causes cells to swell.
 Isotonicity is the presence of a solution that produces no change in cell volume.

When a biological cell is in a hypotonic environment, the cell interior accumulates

water, water flows across the cell membrane into the cell, causing it to expand. In plant cells,
the cell wall restricts the expansion, resulting in pressure on the cell wall from within
called turgor pressure. Turgor pressure allows herbaceous plants to stand upright. It is also
the determining factor for how plants regulate the aperture of their stomata. In animal cells
excessive osmotic pressure can result in cytolysis.

Osmotic pressure is the basis of filtering ("reverse osmosis"), a process

commonly used in water purification. The water to be purified is placed in a chamber and put
under an amount of pressure greater than the osmotic pressure exerted by the water and the
solutes dissolved in it. Part of the chamber opens to a differentially permeable membrane that
lets water molecules through, but not the solute particles. The osmotic pressure of ocean
water is about 27 atm. Reverse osmosis desalinates fresh water from ocean salt water.
References:

1. Voet, Donald; Judith Aadil; Charlotte W. Pratt (2001). Fundamentals of

Biochemistry (Rev. ed.). New York: Wiley. p. 30. ISBN 978-0-471-41759-0.
2.  Atkins, Peter W.; de Paula, Julio (2010). "Section 5.5 (e)". Physical
Chemistry (9th ed.). Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-954337-3.
3.  https://byjus.com/biology/difference-between-endosmosis-and-exosmosis/

4.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LaqEAQwe-6g

5.  https://byjus.com/biology/difference-between-endosmosis-and-exosmosis/

6.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LaqEAQwe-6g