Osmosis and Diffusion - Review Notes

Question 1

Define the following term: Osmosis

Answer 1

Osmosis is the movement of solvent from a region of lower solute concentration to a region of higher solute concentration through a semi-permeable membrane.

Question 2

Define the following term: Diffusion

Answer 2

Diffusion is the movement of a substance from an area of high concentration to an area of low concentration. Diffusion occurs in gases and liquids. Particles in gases and liquids move around randomly, often colliding with each other or whatever container they are in.

Question 3

What is the difference between these 2 terms: Osmosis and Diffusion

Answer 3

While osmosis refers to water moving toward a region where there’s a high concentration of something it can dilute, diffusion is when the soluble substance, salt for instance, moves from an area of high concentration to an area of lower concentration.

Question 4

Define the following term: Hypertonic

Answer 4

Hypertonic refers to a solution with higher osmotic pressure than another solution. In other words, a hypertonic solution is one in which there is a greater concentration or number of solute particles outside a membrane than there are inside it. A hypertonic solution is one which has a higher solute concentration than another solution.

Question 5

Define the following term: Hypotonic

Answer 5

You may have said a hypotonic solution is any solution with a lower concentration of solutes compared to a surrounding or nearby solution.
A plant cell in a hypotonic solution will swell up and become turgid, while an animal cell will swell up and burst (lyse).

Question 6

Define the following term: Isotonic

Answer 6

An isotonic solution is one that has the same osmolarity, or solute concentration, as another solution. If these two solutions are separated by a semipermeable membrane, water will flow in equal parts out of each solution and into the other. The effect is zero water flow between the two solutions, although water is moving both ways.

Question 7

Define the following term: Solvent

Answer 7

the liquid in which a solute is dissolved to form a solution.

Question 8

Define the following term: Solute

Answer 8

the minor component in a solution, dissolved in the solvent.

Question 9

Define the following term: Concentration

Answer 9

The measure of the amount of a sub-component (especially solute) in a solution

Question 10

Explain the difference between these two terms: High concentration and low concentration.

Answer 10

What is high concentration and low concentration means? High concentration means the amount of solute is high in the solution and low concentration means it is low. Amount of solvent is high in low concentration and low in high concentration of solute.