Movement Into & Out the Cell

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.
•Diffusion helps living organisms to:
1) Obtain many of their requirements.
2) Get rid of many of their waste products.
3) Carry out gas exchange for respiration.

Dr. Ahmad Salem – Biology OL

 Factors that Affect the Rate of Diffusion
1. Distance
The shorter the distance the substances have to
move, the faster the rate of diffusion.
2. Temperature
The higher the temperature, the faster molecules move
as they have more energy.
Therefore, as the temperature increases, the rate of
diffusion increases.
3. Concentration Gradient
The greater the concentration gradient, the quicker
diffusion takes place.
4. The surface area of the membrane affects the rate
of diffusion.
As the surface area of the membrane increases, the rate of
diffusion also increases, as there is more space for molecules
to diffuse across the membrane.
 Osmosis
Net movement of water molecules from area of high
concentration of water (dilute solution) to area of low
concentration of water (concentrated solution) through
partially permeable membrane. Water is moving down its
concentration gradient
Water potential: The ability of
water molecules to move from
one place to another.
Water potential gradient:
Presence in water potential of
different media.

Importance of water as a solvent:

•75% of cell components is water
•Many substances move around the cell dissolved
•Many needed reactions occur in water
In plant tissues Plant Osmosis
 When water moves into a plant cell, the vacuole gets
bigger, pushing the cell membrane against the cell
wall, by osmosis makes the cell rigid and firm.
 Plant cells that are turgid are full of water and contain
a high turgor pressure (the pressure of the cytoplasm
pushing against the cell wall).
This pressure prevents any more water entering the
cell by osmosis. This preventing taking in too much
water and bursting.
Plant roots are surrounded by soil water and the
cytoplasm of root cells has a lower water potential than
the soil water. Turgor pressure within cells, Water pressure acting against an in
elastic cell wall needed to support plant.
 In plant tissues

This means water will move across the cell membrane

of root hair cells into the root by osmosis
The water moves across the root from cell to cell by
osmosis until it reaches the xylem
Once they enter the xylem they are transported away
from the root by the transpiration stream, helping to
maintain a concentration gradient between the root cells
and the xylem vessels.
If plants do not receive enough water the cells cannot
remain rigid and firm (turgid) and the plant wilts.
Plant cell doesn’t burst as it
has a cell wall that is elastic as
it’s made of cellulose so it’s
stretched and never break.
 Flaccid: soft and limp; not firm
Plasmolysis
Plasmolysis: It is the shrinking of cytoplasm of plant cell so that
cell membrane tears away from cell wall.
Features of plasmolysis:
1. Sap vacuole shrinks.
2. Cytoplasm is pulled away from cell wall.
3. Cell membrane is seen
4. There is a space between cell wall and cell membrane that contains
outer solution as water Importance of osmosis for plants:
5. No change in cell wall. •Absorption of water by root hair cells
•Preventing plants’ wilting
•Provide support by turgidity.
 In animal tissues
Animal cells also lose and gain water as a result of osmosis.
However, animal cells do not have a supporting cell wall.
1) If an animal cell is placed into a strong sugar solution, it will lose
water by osmosis, Cytoplasm shrinks and the cell shrivels up.
and cell become crenated.

2) If an animal cell is placed into distilled water , it will gain water

by osmosis and, as it has no cell wall to create turgor pressure,
will continue to do so until the cell membrane is stretched too far
and it bursts.
 Active Transport
Active transport is the movement of particles through a cell
membrane from a region of lower concentration to a region of
higher concentration using energy from respiration.
Carrier protein:
• Protein found in cell membrane that forces particles against their
concentration gradient.
• They’re specific.
• How ? The solute is taken in the binding site of the carrier. The carrier
molecules rotate using energy to transfer the solute from lower
concentration area to its higher concentration area.
Factors affecting active transport:
1. Number of mitochondria: (increasing mitochondria leads to release more
energy; this causes more active uptake to occur)
2. Concentration of O2: When it increases, the rate of aerobic respiration
increases so more released energy is produced and fast active uptake
occurs.
3. Number of carrier proteins: This increase the rate of active transport.
Active transport works by using carrier proteins embedded in the cell
membrane to pick up specific molecules and take them through the cell
membrane against their concentration gradient:
1. Substance combines with carrier protein molecule in the cell membrane
2. Carrier transports substances across membrane using energy from
respiration to give them the kinetic energy needed to change shape and
move the substance through the cell membrane
3. Substance released into cell
The differences between uptake of water and uptake of minerals
by the root hair cells!

•Uptake of water takes place by the process of osmosis which is a

passive process while uptake of minerals takes place by the process
of active uptake which is an active process.

•In uptake of water, the molecules of water move from regions of

their higher concentration (potential), while in uptake of minerals
the molecules move from regions of their lower concentrations to
regions of their higher concentrations (against their concentration
gradient).
 Osmosis Experiments
The most common osmosis practical involves cutting cylinders of potato and placing
them into distilled water and sucrose solutions of increasing concentration.
The potato cylinders are weighed before placing into the solutions.
They are left in the solutions for 20 – 30 minutes and then removed, dried to remove
excess liquid and reweighed.