Unit 4: Cellular Transport Mechanisms

Lesson 4.2

Cell’s Transport Mechanism I:

Diffusion and Osmosis

Introduction
Water is a very essential substance for life to persist. Anyone can survive for weeks without
food but cannot actually do for days without water except for organisms that can really
adapt to an environment with extreme water scarcity. Most cellular processes rely on the
presence of water molecules. Enzymes themselves require sufficient water in order to
perform a wide array of biochemical reactions. Nutrients from the food that we consume
can be transported into the cell when they are dissolved in water. Some cellular waste
products, likewise, are also dissolved in water for export outside the cell.

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Most plants absorb water through their roots and transport it throughout the plant body.
We can observe that when a plant is not watered for days, it wilts because its cells lack
sufficient water. For us, humans, it is important that we always stay well hydrated, not just
to quench our thirst when we feel hot, but also to help our cells in performing their daily
biochemical processes. Water has various properties that help sustain life. In this lesson,
we will discuss in detail the nature of diffusion and osmosis which both play an important
role in the movement of various molecules across the plasma membrane.

Learning Objectives DepEd Competency

In this lesson, you should be able to do the Explain transport mechanisms in

cells (diffusion and osmosis)
following:
(STEM_BIO11/12-Ig-h-13).
● Explain the difference between
diffusion and osmosis as molecules
cross the membrane.
● Differentiate hypotonic, isotonic, and
hypertonic solutions for animal and
plant cells.

Warm Up
Naked Egg 15 minutes
This activity involves a demonstration of osmosis. It is a phenomenon that refers to the
movement of water across a barrier depending on certain conditions. In this case, water
moves around biological membranes based on its concentration gradient. It is one of the
cellular processes that play an important role in various biological processes in human
tissues such as nutrient absorption in the intestines, reabsorption in kidneys, and even in
tear secretion.

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Materials
● beaker
● egg
● vinegar solution (acetic acid and water)

Procedure
1. Form groups with three members each to perform this activity.
2. Place the egg in the beaker.
3. Pour in the vinegar solution enough to cover the egg.
4. Weigh the beaker with the egg and vinegar in it.
5. You will also see that bubbles start forming around the egg.
6. Store the beaker in a cold, dry place for 24 hours.
7. The next day, weigh the submerged egg in vinegar to compare it from yesterday.
8. Answer the following guide questions below.

Guide Questions
1. What are your observations from the outcomes of the activity?
2. What do you think happened to the egg in the set-up?
3. How do you think the vinegar enters the egg?

Learn about It!

A cell’s survival often depends on its ability to increase, decrease, and maintain the
concentration of specific solutes in its internal fluids. There are substances available
outside and inside the cell that are needed to be imported and exported. Cells also need to
maintain their internal composition stable even if, most of the time, it is different from that
of the external environment.

Based on the activity, after soaking the egg in vinegar for 24 hours, the shell of the egg may
almost be completely gone. It is because eggshells, which are made up of calcium
carbonate, react with the acetic acid in vinegar. Bubbles were also observable. You may
have also noticed that the egg became slightly bigger compared to its initial size because

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some of the water molecules in the vinegar solution moved through the membrane of the
egg to equalize water concentration on both sides. We can also recall from the previous
discussion that the movement of molecules follows a concentration gradient. In this lesson,
we will be able to learn how this concentration gradients the movement of certain
molecules.

How does diffusion affect the movement of

substances into and out of the cell?

Diffusion
Diffusion is the movement of molecules from an area of higher concentration to an area of
lower concentration. This natural phenomenon will continue until equilibrium is achieved
and the molecules are distributed equally in a system. It is a physical process that results
from the random molecular motion that can be observed with any type of molecule that
spread out evenly into the available space.

Imagine a membrane separating pure water from a dye solution. Assume that this
membrane has very tiny holes that allow dye molecules to pass through. These dye
molecules will move randomly, and there will be a migration across the membrane to the
side of pure water. This movement will continue until both sides have equal concentrations.
A solution contains both the solute, which is usually solid and a solvent, which is usually a
liquid. In the given scenario, the solute is the dye and the solvent is the water.

Diffusion can also be simply explained by using a setup that does not involve a membrane.
In Fig. 4.2.1, if you add a dye in water, the dye molecules are initially closer to each other;
thus, it is expected that their kinetic energy is greater which also results in greater collision
rates. The continuous collision among the dye molecules in the water drives their
movement from an area of higher dye concentration to an area of lower dye concentration.
As the molecules continue to randomly move throughout the container containing water,
they approach having an almost uniform distribution. This is when the system achieves the
state of equilibrium. However, it should be noted that the molecules are still in motion in

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this system, only that there is no net change taking place relative to the concentration of dye
molecules. This is more precisely described as the state of dynamic equilibrium.

Fig. 4.2.1. Diffusion involves the movement of molecules in a solvent from an area of higher
solute concentration to an area of lower solute concentration which eventually results in the
state of dynamic equilibrium.

Diffusion across a membrane is an example of passive transport. This type of movement is

considered passive because the molecules do not have energy expenditure to move across
through the membrane. In passive transport, the primary driving force that moves a
substance is its concentration gradient or the difference in its concentration across a
semipermeable membrane.

Simple versus Facilitated Diffusion

We can recall from the previous discussion that uncharged, nonpolar molecules such as
oxygen and carbon dioxide can simply cross the lipid bilayer with ease. It is because the
middle part of the lipid bilayer is also nonpolar which is expected to associate with
molecules of the same nature. This scenario is similar to how the oxygen diffuses from the
alveoli of the lungs into the bloodstream in lung capillaries. After breathing in, the
concentration of oxygen in the alveoli is higher than that in the blood. Therefore, oxygen
molecules diffuse into the blood down their concentration gradient.

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Fig. 4.2.2. Molecules, such as ions and water outside the cell, are being transported across
the cell membrane through channel proteins via facilitated diffusion.

Some hydrophilic molecules, however, can still cross the hydrophobic center of the
membrane. This movement requires the help of channel or carrier proteins to move across
a membrane. This assisted transport is called facilitated diffusion (as shown in Fig. 4.2.2.),
and it is also a type of passive transport because it does not require energy. Small ions enter
the cell via channel proteins. Larger molecules such as glucose and amino acids are rapidly
transported across the plasma membrane via carrier proteins. In some cells, water also
enters via channels called aquaporins. Remember that in all types of passive transport, it is
just the concentration gradient that serves as the driving force.

How does osmosis play an important role in

different cellular processes?

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Osmosis
Osmosis (as shown in Fig. 4.2.3.) is
the diffusion of water across a
selectively permeable membrane from
a region of high water concentration
to one with lower water concentration.
Recall from previous discussions that
phospholipid bilayers are selectively
permeable. When fluids on either side
of a selectively permeable membrane
differ in solute concentration, water
will diffuse across the membrane in a
direction that depends on tonicity. It
should be emphasized that the
solutes, in this case, have no way of crossing the membrane, which drives the net
movement of water.

Tonicity
Tonicity refers to the relative
concentration of solutes in fluids separated
by a selectively permeable membrane. It is
the ability of a surrounding solution to
cause a cell to gain or lose water. The
tonicity of a solution depends on its
concentration of solutes. It can be isotonic,
hypotonic, or hypertonic. When solute
concentrations are similar on both sides of
a membrane, water molecules move at the
same rate in both directions. Solutions of
equal solute concentration are said to be
isotonic (iso, equal). A 0.9% solution of
NaCl is known to be isotonic to red blood
cells (as shown in Fig. 4.2.4.). Therefore,

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intravenous solutions that are medically administered usually have this tonicity.

When the overall solute concentrations of

the two fluids differ, the fluid with the lower
concentration of solutes than inside the cell
is said to be hypotonic (hypo, under). Note
that hypotonic solutions have lower solute
concentration and have higher water
concentration (i.e., less solute, more water).
Therefore, the water will move across the
membrane down its concentration
gradient. This reduces the difference in
their solute concentrations and changes
the volumes of the two solutions. This type
of solution can cause the cell to swell or
even burst (as shown in Fig. 4.2.5.)due to
the intake of water more than the cell can
accommodate. The swelling of a plant cell,
when placed in a hypotonic solution,
creates turgor pressure. Its cytoplasm
expands because the large central vacuole
gains water and the plasma membrane
pushes against the rigid cell wall. Unlike
animal cells which do not have cell walls,
the plant cells do not burst. Turgor
pressure in plants is important to maintain
its standing or erect position. If water is
insufficient, plants wilt due to the decrease
in turgor pressure.

A solution with higher solute concentration

is referred to as a hypertonic (hyper, over)
solution. It refers to a solution with a higher

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concentration of solute outside of the membrane which causes the water to move to that
area. This solution can cause an animal cell to shrink or shrivel due to water loss (as
shown in Fig. 4.2.6.). By contrast, when a plant cell is placed in a hypertonic solution, the
plasma membrane pulls away from the cell wall as the large central vacuole loses water.
This is called plasmolysis, which refers to the shrinking of the cytoplasm due to osmosis.
The varying responses of plant cells to osmosis is shown in Fig. 4.2.7.

People can use the principle of osmosis in preserving food. Salt is often applied to meat to
cure them. The salt causes the water to move out of the food (or the cells in food) toward
the region of greater solute concentration. Food can also be preserved through sugar
because the high concentration of sugar draws water out of food. Bacteria cells are not
killed by the salt but by the lack of water in the meat.

Fig. 4.2.7. Plant cells, relative to animal cells, do not change cell size that much with varying
concentrations of water.

For an animal to survive in a hypotonic or hypertonic environment, it must have a way to

prevent excessive uptake or loss of water and regulate the solute concentration of its body
fluids. This control of this water balance is called osmoregulation. For example, a
freshwater fish, which lives in a relatively hypotonic environment, takes up water through
osmosis across the cells of its gills. Its kidneys work constantly to remove excess water from
the body; otherwise, the tissues will suffer from overhydration.

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Marine fishes and other types of animals excrete salt for them to cope with their hypertonic
environment. In this way, it prevents their body from losing excess water to the
environment. For example, sharks increase or decrease urea in their blood until their blood
is isotonic with the environment, and in this way do not lose too much water.

Marine fishes and other types of animals drink

water but excrete salts across their gills. Why do
they do this?

Did You Know?

The contact lenses we wear have been formulated to be relatively
isotonic, which means that they have the same osmotic pressure as
the tear film in our eye.

Equilibrium should be maintained between ocular tissues and the

solution in the lens. Hence, it is important that the contact lens
solution should be isotonic as well. If your eye swells up because
there is an excessive accumulation of water, it may be because the
contact lens solution is hypotonic, which means that it contains a
lower concentration of NaCl. Water always moves to areas of higher
tonicity, which would be in your cornea. If the solution is
hypertonic, the opposite will happen—dryness is exhibited.

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Key Points
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● Diffusion is the movement of molecules down their concentration gradient, i.e., from
an area of higher concentration to an area of lower concentration.
● A solution contains both the solute, which is usually solid and a solvent, which is
usually a liquid. A solute added in a solvent will naturally diffuse to form a solution.
● Diffusion is an example of passive transport in which molecules are moved across
the membrane without spending energy.
● Facilitated diffusion involves the movement of molecules across the membrane but
with the aid of either channel or carrier proteins. These molecules are usually those
that cannot cross due to their molecular size or chemical nature.
● Osmosis is the diffusion of water across a selectively permeable membrane from
high to low concentration.
○ Isotonic solutions have an equal solute concentration in and out of the cell.
○ Hypotonic solution has a lower concentration of solutes than inside the cell.
○ Hypertonic solution is one with a higher concentration of solute outside of
the cell membrane.

Diffusion and osmosis both involve movement of molecules without spending energy.
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