The Rate Of Diffusion Process

Cells and molecules in the environment are constantly moving and changing, for cells to function properly there is a need for equilibrium to be met. The size of the cell and the solution outside of the cell affects the rate of diffusion and osmosis in the cell. Cells are constantly trying to reach an equilibrium with the molecules and substances around it, which is why there are such terms as: hypertonic, hypotonic and isotonic. The procedures allowed testing of whether or not surface area or volume increased diffusion and how different substance control diffusion. Cells are constantly moving to reach equilibrium through diffusion and osmosis.

Diffusion is defined as the movement of molecules from an area of high concentration to an area of low concentration. The diffusion of water molecules through a semi-permeable(selectively permeable) membrane is osmosis. Semi-permeable means that some molecules can move through the membrane while others can not. Diffusion and Osmosis are passive forms of transport requiring no energy. Active Transport utilizes energy in the form of ATP. Water is a solvent that can dissolve a number of substances more than any other substance. Wherever water goes, through the ground or a body, it takes along valuable molecules. Water’s chemical composition causes it to be attracted to many different molecules and be attracted so strongly it disrupts the forces and dissolves it. Water can pass through the semipermeable membrane without any help but can change the solution, on the other side of the cell membrane, depending on how much it diffuses in and out.

Research Question: How does the size of the cell affect its efficiency in exchanging substances through several ways, like diffusion?

Another reason that larger organisms have lower population densities than smaller organisms is that many large organisms depend on small ones as their food source. Thus, there would have to be significantly less of these large organisms than the small ones for both these populations to survive.

All organisms need to exchange particles such as food, waste, gas and heat with their surroundings. there are two different types of ways in which substances can enter or/and leave a cell. these ways are called Passive and Active. with in these there are different processes for example, in passive process there are diffusion, facilitated diffusion and osmosis and in the active process there is molecule and particle. in this assignment I am going to discuss all of these processes starting with diffusion.

1. Understand the importance of diffusion to cellular metabolism and the how it constraints the evolution of cell/body size and shape

1. The relationship between rate of diffusion/ osmosis, volume, and surface area can be easily seen and analyzed through the data that was collected from procedure one: Surface Area and Cell Size. Phenolphthalein is a dye-material in this lab that was used to determine whether a substance was an acid or base. This could be told as the phenolphthalein changed into a murky. Muddled and clouded color when mixed with acids. When the chemical aid was mixed in with a base, the color

Most cells are small because diffusion can take place at a quicker rate. The convolutions allow for more space to be able to be used in order to get molecules across the membrane. These small cells allow for materials to quickly be able to reach the cell membrane and get in or out of the cell, without having to make a long journey from an inside part of the cell.

On the other hand, diffusion occurs when particles in the water move from high concentration to low concentration. I also to seek to

A cell needs to perform diffusion in order to survive. Substances, including water, ions, and molecules that are required for cellular activities, can enter and leave cells by a passive process such as diffusion. Diffusion is random movement of molecules in a net direction from a region of higher concentration to a region of lower concentration order to reach equilibrium. Diffusion does not require any energy input. Diffusion is needed for basic cell functions - for example, in humans, cells obtain oxygen via diffusion from the alveoli of the lungs into the blood and in plants water

Diffusion is an automated process by where the levels of oxygen, water and carbon dioxide pass over a ‘semi-permeable membrane’ between the walls of the cells and blood vessels to create a level environment. This membrane only allows these three elements to pass whilst retaining other elements such as blood cells, hence semi-permeable. The high concentration on one side of the cells transfers through this membrane until the level is equal on both sides.

Diffusion is the transfer of molecules from an area that has a higher concentration to an area that has a lower concentration. Osmosis is the diffusion of water. The purpose of this experiment was to study the process of osmosis. In order to test osmosis, eggs that had been soaking in vinegar were taken and placed in four beakers of solution with different levels of glucose. Using this experiment we were able to determine the rate of osmosis of different solutions, with various amounts of glucose, through eggs. In the results of this lab it was found that the eggs were either hypertonic or hypotonic and that the

All cells contain membranes that are selectively permeable, allowing certain things to pass into and leave out of the cell. The process in which molecules of a substance move from an area of high concentration to areas of low concentration is called Diffusion. Whereas Osmosis is the process in which water crosses membranes from regions of high water concentration to areas with low water concentration. While molecules in diffusion move down a concentration gradient, molecules during osmosis both move down a concentration gradient as well as across it. Both diffusion, and osmosis are types of passive transport, which do not require help.

Osmosis is a special type of diffusion. It is the diffusion of water across a semipermeable membrane which is a membrane that is freely permeable to water but is not freely permeable to solutes, the water moves from a dilute solution to a more concentrated solution (Karp, 2010). Both diffusion and osmosis are passive transport, energy is not used in the transport. In osmosis water moves across a membrane toward the solution of greater concentration, because the concentration of water is lower there (Martini and Bartholomew., 2007).

2.1. Diffusion is the spontaneous kinetic movement by which molecules move from an area of a high concentration to an area of low concentration. Diffusion continues until it reaches equilibrium. Osmosis is similar to Diffusion but it’s the process in which water moves across a semi-permeable membrane and goes to the higher concentration of solute.1