Osmosis Flashcards
What is osmosis?
The movement of water across a selectively permeable membrane.
What happens when solutes can’t pass through a membrane and diffuse?
Water will pass back and forth to even out concentrations.
What is the meaning of “selectively permeable.”
A membrane that can regulate which molecules are able to pass through the membrane and which cannot.
What is a solute?
The minority component in a solution (mixture) dissolved.
What is concentration?
The ratio of solutes to the solvent.
What is a solvent?
A substance that dissolves things to create a solution (mixture).
What is tonicity?
The concentration gradient of a solute in a solution.
What do you call the the equal concentration of solutes on both sides of the membrane?
Isotonic.
What do you call the unequal concentration of solutes on either side of the membrane?
The side with the higher concentration is called Hypertonic.
The side with the lower concentration is called Hypotonic.
What is Isotonic?
A type of tonicity where there is an equal amount of solutes on both sides of a membrane.
What is hypertonic?
A type of tonicity where there is a higher concentration of solutes outside of a cell than inside of a cell.
What is hypotonic?
A type of tonicity where there is a lower concentration of solutes outside of a cell than inside a cell.
Is osmosis an active or passive mode of transport?
It is a passive mode of transport. It does not require the use of ATP (cellular energy), for it to occur. It happens naturally because water will be moving from an area of high concentration to an area of low concentration to even out the concentration across a membrane.
What is passive transport?
Movement of molecules across a membrane without the use of energy.
