Osmosis Flashcards
What does osmosis mean?
a net movement of water molecules from a region
of high concentration[high water potential] to a
region where their concentration is low,[low water
potential] through a semi permeable membrane (a
membrane permeable to water and specific
solutes).
What is water potential?
is the pressure exerted by
water molecule that are free to move in a
system – it is measured in Kilopascals (kPa).
What does a solution with hight water potential mean?
has a large number of water molecules that are
free to move.
What does the solute potential mean?
A solute’s contribution to the water potential
Why will the solute potential always be negative?
As it always reduces the water potential
What happens when more solute is added to
the system.
the solute potential becomes more negative
What happens If an animal cell is placed in a solution that’s hypertonic?
then water will move out of the cell
causing it to collapse.
We say the cell is crenated.
What happens If an animal cell is placed in a solution that’s hypotonic?
then water will move into the cell causing it to expand. Eventually the cell may burst,
this is called cell lysis.
What happens If an animal cell is placed in a solution that’s isotonic?
, then the same amount of water enters the
cell as moves out of it, so the cell is not damaged.
What happens If a plant cell is placed in a solution that’s hypertonic?
the cell loses water and goes flaccid
because the vacuole becomes flaccid and the cytoplasm stops pushing against the cell wall.
This state is called plasmolysis
What happens If a plant cell is placed in a solution that’s hypotonic?
water will enter the cell and fill the vacuole.
The plasma membrane will push against the cell wall making the cell very inflexible
It is said that cells in this state are turgid.
