Water Potential Flashcards
Complete the following
‘The more potential energy it’ll move…
the higher the water concentration’
- lower potential energy means less are free to move as there are weak bonds between the water and solute
How does a concentrated solution affect the water potential?
A concentrated solution has a greater pull on the water molecules as fewer are free to move so the water potential is lower
Define Solute Potential
How easily water molecules move out of a solution
Water and solute potential are (blank) in animal cells but different in (blank) cells
Water and solute potential are same in animal cells but different in plant cells
What happens for a cell to become turgid?
A build up of pressure within a plant cell
- Water potential puts pressure on the cell as it goes in so the pressure potential of the cell wall pushes outwards to resist more water making it turgid
- this does not happen in animal cells as they don’t have a cell wall
What is the equation for Water Potential?
WP=
Pressure Potential + Solute Potential
What is the water potential of a plant cell after being placed in water?
At first slightly negative but levels out to 0
What does Hypotonic mean?
The water potential outside the cell is higher than inside the cell
- so the waters going in the cell
What does Hypertonic mean?
The water potential outside the cell is lower than inside the cell
- so the water is going out and the cell become plasmolysed
What does Isotonic mean?
The water potential is equal
What happens to red blood cells when put in water?
They burst as they have a weak membrane and can’t handle the volume and pressure inside the cell increasing
- they shrink in concentrated solutions as they lose water by osmosis
Define Water Potential
A measure of the free energy of water molecules and the tendency of water to move
- Water always moves from a high to a lower water potential
