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Class: Cambridge 08 [O Level – Biology (5090)]

Student Name: …………………………………….

Unit 3

Movement into and out of cells

3.1 Diffusion and Osmosis
Role of water
• Most cells contain about 75% water and will die if their water content falls much
below this.
• Water is a good solvent and many substances move about the cells in a watery
solution.
• Water molecules take part in a great many vital chemical reactions. For example, in
green plants, water combines with carbon dioxide to form sugar
• In animals, water helps to break down and dissolve food molecules (digestion).
• Blood is made up of cells and a liquid called plasma. This plasma is 92% water and
acts as a transport medium for many dissolved substances, such as carbon dioxide,
urea, digested food, and hormones. Blood cells are carried around the body in the
plasma.
• Water also acts as a transport medium in plants. Water passes up the plant from the
roots to the leaves in xylem vessels and carries with it dissolved mineral ions. Phloem
vessels transport sugars and amino acids in solution from the leaves to their places of
use or storage.
• Water plays an important role in excretion in animals. It acts as a powerful solvent
for excretory materials, such as nitrogenous molecules like urea, as well as salts, spent
hormones, and drugs.
• The water has a diluting effect, reducing the toxicity of the excretory materials.

Random movement of particles

• The molecules in a gas, a liquid, or a solid are in constant motion due to their kinetic
energy.
• Molecules are in constant movement and collide with each other. These collisions
cause the molecules to move in random directions.
• Over time, however, more molecules will be propelled into the less concentrated area.
Thus, the net movement of molecules is always from more tightly packed areas to
less tightly packed areas.
• Many things can diffuse. Odors diffuse through the air, salt diffuses through water and
nutrients diffuse from the blood to the body tissues.
• With an increase in temperature, the particles gain kinetic energy and move faster.
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Diffusion
If a crystal of potassium permanganate (KMnO4) is dropped into a beaker of water it
dissolves and gradually the purple colour of the permanganate spreads until eventually it is
uniformly distributed. The reason is that permanganate ions move away from the crystal.
This is because of the random movement of ions.

molecules molecules evenly

moving about distributed

This process is known as diffusion. We can define diffusion as the net movement of
molecules or ions from a region of their higher concentration to a region of their lower
concentration (i.e. down a concentration gradient), as a result of their random movement.

High con. of O2 Cell membrane Low con. of O2

Outside the cell Inside the cell

(blood) Net movement of
oxygen molecules
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Diffusion is very important in the movement of molecules and ions in and out of the
cell. For example, a cell in the human body is continuously undergoing respiration. The
concentration of oxygen inside the cell will be lower than it is in the blood and tissue fluid.
The concentration gradient results in oxygen molecules diffusing into the cell from outside.
With carbon, dioxide the reverse is the truth.

Factors that affect the rate of diffusion

1. Temperature - The higher the temperate, the faster diffusion or osmosis occurs. If
the temperature is too high, however (too far past optimum), enzymes begin to de-
nature and this may affect the rate of substance movement, especially in terms of
active transport. Until that point, the higher the temperature, the faster the movement
of particles, as they have more energy, and therefore collide more, making it more
likely that they will move into the desired space.
2. Concentration gradient: If the concentration gradient is high/steep, it means that
there is a greater difference in concentration between the substance inside and outside
the cell. A steeper concentration gradient means the substance will diffuse faster
because molecules have a bigger opportunity of diffusing.

3. Surface area to volume ratio: If there is a larger surface area to volume ratio, the
movement of the substance is likely to be quicker, especially in terms of diffusion, as
there is a larger space that particles can get past.

4. Distance: The rate of diffusion is inversely related to the distance through which the
material is diffusing. That is, smaller distances result in faster diffusion rates and
larger distances result in slower diffusion rates. This makes sense since a gas diffuses
through a thin wall much faster than it would diffuse through a thick wall.

Osmosis
Biological membranes are permeable to water, but there is no net movement of water
into and out of cells unless osmosis occurs, where the net movement of water molecules is
linked to the net movement and concentrations of solutes on either side the membrane.

. Partially permeable membrane

level rises
level falls

Con. solution dilute solution

Net movement of water

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• Water will diffuse from dilute to a concentrated solution through the partially
permeable membrane.
• As a result, the liquid level rises on the left side and falls on the right.

Osmosis can be defined as the net movement of water molecules from a region of
higher water potential to a region of lower water potential, through a partially permeable
membrane.

• Soil solution has a higher water potential than cells of the epidermis including the
root hair. Water, therefore, enters the root from the soil by osmosis.

Osmosis and plant cells

• Because of osmosis plant cells become very firm and rigid. It is said to be turgid. The
cells of the well water plant are all turgid. This helps to keep the soft parts of a plant,
such as leaves, flowers, and flower petals firm and in shape.
• Turgidity helps to support the plant.

• If you place a cell in a highly concentrated sugar or salt solution, the solution outside
the cell has a lower water potential than the solution inside it.
• The water molecules move by osmosis from the higher water potential to the lower
water potential. So water molecules move out of the cell into the solution.
• This make the content of the cell shrink. As the cell loses more and more water, the
cytoplasm and vacuole get smaller and smaller.
• If water keeps on going out of the cell and the cytoplasm keeps on shrinking, the cell
surface membrane eventually be pulled away from the cell wall. When this happens,
the cell is said to be plasmolyzed.

These onion cells have been placed in a concentrated solution. The cytoplasm
has shrunk inwards, leaving big gaps between itself and the cell walls (x300)
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• Plant cell is surrounded by a cell wall. This cell wall is part of what gives plants such
a rigid and sturdy structure.
• Plant cells need a certain amount of pressure to make sure that the cell wall stays
rigid, pressure from the fluid within the cell pushing against the cell wall is
called turgor pressure.
• Flaccid plant cell is one in which the plasma membrane is not pressed tightly against
the cell wall. This is observed when the plant cell is placed in an isotonic solution
wherein the concentration of solutes on the outside is the same as that in the inside of
a plant cell.

Osmosis and animal cells

If we placed an animal cell in pure water, the cytoplasm inside the cell is a fairly
concentrated solution. So, water molecules will diffuse from the dilute solution (pure water)
into the concentrated solution (into the cell). As more and more water enters the cell, it
swells. The cell membrane has to stretch as the cell gets bigger until eventually, the strain is
too much, and the cell bursts.
If we place an animal cell in a
concentrated solution, the solution is
more concentrated than the content of
the cytoplasm, then water molecules will
diffuse out of the cell. As the water
molecules go out through the cell
membrane, the cytoplasm shrinks. The
cell shrivels up.
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Water Potential (ψ)

• The water potential of a solution is a measure of whether it is likely to lose or gain
water molecules from another solution.
• A dilute solution, with its high proportion of free water molecules, is said to have a
higher water potential than a concentrated solution because water will flow from the
dilute to the concentrated solution (from a high potential to a low potential).
• Pure water has the highest possible water potential because water molecules will flow
from it to any other aqueous solution, no matter how dilute.
• When adjacent cells contain sap with different water potentials, a water potential
gradient is created. Water will move from a cell with a higher water potential (a more
dilute solution) to a cell with a lower water potential (a more concentrated solution).
• This is thought to be one way in which water moves from root hair cells through to
the xylem of a plant root.

The importance of water potential and osmosis in the uptake of water by

plants
A plant cell with the vacuole pushing out on the cell wall is said to be turgid and the
vacuole is exerting turgor pressure on the inelastic cell wall. If all the cells in a leaf and stem
are turgid, the stem will be firm and upright and the leaves held out straight. If the vacuoles
lose water for any reason, the cells will lose their turgor and become flaccid.

Root hair cells are in contact with water trapped between soil particles. When the
water potential of the cell sap is lower than that of the soil water, the water will enter the
cells by osmosis providing the plant with the water it needs.

Investigation The effects of varying the concentration of sucrose

solution on potato tissue
⎯ Push a No.4 or No.5 cork borer into a large potato.
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⎯ Push the potato tissue out of the cork borer using a pencil as in Figure 3.13(b).
Prepare six potato cylinders in this way and cut them all to the same length. (They
should be at least 50 mm long.)
⎯ Measure them carefully.
⎯ Label six test tubes with the concentration of sucrose solution in them and place
them in a test-tube rack.
a. 0.0 mol dm –3
b. 0.2 mol dm –3
c. 0.4 mol dm –3
d. 0.6 mol dm –3
e. 0.8 mol dm –3
f. 1.0 mol dm –3
⎯ Add the same volume of the correct sucrose solution to each test tube.
⎯ Weigh a cylinder of potato, record its mass and place it in the first test tube. Repeat
until all the test tubes have been set up.
⎯ Leave the tubes for at least 30 minutes.
⎯ After this time, remove the potato cylinder from the first tube, surface dry the potato,
and re-weigh it. Notice also whether it is firm or flabby.
⎯ Repeat this for the other potato cylinders.
⎯ Calculate the change in mass and the percentage change in mass for each cylinder.

⎯ Plot the results on a graph with sucrose concentration on the horizontal axis and
percentage change in mass on the vertical axis.

Note: there will be negative as well as positive percentage changes in mass, so your graph
axes will have to allow for this.

Result
The cylinders in the weaker sucrose solutions will have gained mass and feel firm.
One of the cylinders may have shown no change in mass. The cylinders in the more
concentrated sucrose solutions will have lost mass and feel limp.

Interpretation
⎯ If the cells of the potato have absorbed water by osmosis, there will be an increase in
the mass of the potato cylinder.

⎯ This happens when the external solution has a higher water potential than that inside
the potato cells. (The sucrose solution is less concentrated than the contents of the
potato cells.) Water molecules move into each cell through the cell membrane. The
water molecules move from a higher water potential to lower water potential. The
cells become turgid, so the cylinder feels firm.
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If the cells of the potato have lost water by osmosis, there will be a decrease in the
mass of the potato cylinder. This happens when the external solution has a lower
water potential than that inside the potato cells. (The sucrose solution is more
concentrated than the contents of the potato cells.) Water molecules move out of each
cell through the cell membrane. The water molecules move from a higher water
potential to lower water potential. The cells become plasmolyzed or flaccid, so the
cylinder feels flabby.

3.2 Active transport

• Sometimes, a plant needs to absorb substances that are in a very low concentration
in its surroundings.
• For example, a plant cell needs to intake nitrate ions through its root hairs from the
soil.
• But the concentration of nitrate ions dissolved in the water in the soil is much less
than the concentration of nitrate ions inside root hair cells. If left themselves the
nitrate ions would diffuse down their concentration gradient out of the cells into the
soil.
Low concentration
Molecule

Cell membrane Protein carrier

High concentration
ATP ADP

• Plants, however, can take the nitrate ions in opposite direction, against the
concentration gradient.
• This process is called active transport. It needs the energy to obtain from aerobic
respiration. We can define active transport as, the movement of molecules or ions into
or out of a cell through the cell membrane, from a region of low concentration to a
region of their higher concentration (i.e. against a concentration gradient) using the
energy released during respiration.
• Another example of active transport is the uptake of glucose molecules from the
small intestine (epithelial cells of villi) into the blood. Without respiration, active
transport will be impossible because it needs energy (ATP).