KAUMARAM SUSHILA INTERNATIONAL RESIDENTIAL SCHOOL GRADE :- 9th

IGCSE Sub:- Biology CHAPTER :- UNIT 3 Notes

3.1 Diffusion
Diffusion in Living Organisms

• Diffusion is the movement of molecules from a region of its higher concentration to a region of its
lower concentration
• Molecules move down a concentration gradient, as a result of their random movement

• For living cells, the principle of the movement down a concentration gradient is the same, but the
cell is surrounded by a cell membrane which can restrict the free movement of the molecules
• The cell membrane is a partially permeable membrane – this means it allows some molecules to
cross easily, but others with difficulty or not at all
• The simplest sort of selection is based on the size of the molecules
• Diffusion helps living organisms to:
o obtain many of their requirements
o get rid of many of their waste products
o carry out gas exchange for respiration

Examples of diffusion in living organisms

• You will need to learn examples of substances that organisms obtain by diffusion • Don’t forget that
plants require oxygen for respiration at all times, as well as carbon dioxide for photosynthesis
when conditions for photosynthesis are right (e.g. enough light and a suitable temperature)
Brownian Motion

• All particles move randomly at all times

• This is known as Brownian motion
• The energy for diffusion comes from the kinetic energy of this random movement of molecules and
ions

Factors that Influence Diffusion

Surface area to volume ratio:

• The bigger a cell or structure is, the smaller its surface area to volume ratio is, slowing down the
rate at which substances can move across its surface
• Many cells which are adapted for diffusion have increased surface area in some way – eg root hair
cells in plants (which absorb water and mineral ions) and cells lining the ileum in animals (which
absorb the products of digestion)
Five factors that affect the rate of diffusion and therefore the movement of molecules through
membranes:

Distance

• The smaller the distance molecules have to travel the faster transport will occur • This is why blood
capillaries and alveoli have walls which are only one cell thick, ensure the rate of diffusion across them is
as fast as possible

Temperature
• The higher the temperature, the faster molecules move as they have more energy • This results in more
collisions against the cell membrane and therefore a faster rate of movement across them

Concentration Gradient

• The greater the difference in concentration either side of the membrane, the faster movement across
it will occur
• This is because on the side with the higher concentration, more random collisions against the
membrane will occur

Surface area

• The greater the surface area, the faster will be the diffusion
• This is because the exposure to the diffusing material will be more and so more diffusion happens in less
time

Moisture

• A tinch of moisture or the presence of water will speed up the diffusion

• This is because the particles get dissolved in the water content for an easy diffusion
Exam Tip

You should have carried out investigations into the factors that influence the rate of diffusion and as so
should be able to use the information above to explain experimental results in an exam.

You should also be able to plan and carry out an experiment which can investigate the effect of one of
these factors.

Osmosis Theory: Basics

• All cells are surrounded by a cell membrane which is partially permeable

• Water can move in and out of cells by osmosis
• Osmosis is the diffusion of water molecules from a dilute solution (high concentration of water) to a
more concentrated solution (low concentration of water) across a partially permeable membrane
• In doing this, water is moving down its concentration gradient
• The cell membrane is partially permeable which means it allows small molecules (like water)
through but not larger molecules (like solute molecules)

•
Osmosis Theory

• Osmosis is the net movement of water molecules from a region of higher water potential (dilute
solution) to a region of lower water potential (concentrated solution), through a partially permeable
membrane
• It can get a little confusing to talk about the ‘concentration of water’ when we also talk about solutions
being ‘concentrated’ (having a lot of solute in them), so instead we can say that a dilute solution has
a high water potential (the right-hand side of the diagram below) and a concentrated solution has
a low water potential (the left-hand side of the diagram below):
Exam Tip
The best explanations to do with osmosis will refer to water potential, so if you are aiming for a 7, 8 or 9 you
will need to understand the concept and use it in your explanations.
Exam Tip

The best explanations to do with osmosis will refer to water potential, so if you are aiming for a 7, 8 or 9 you
will need to understand the concept and use it in your explanations.

Osmosis Experiments: Basics

• The most common osmosis practical involves cutting cylinders of potato and placing them into
distilled water and sucrose solutions of increasing concentration
• The potato cylinders are weighed before placing into the solutions
• They are left in the solutions for 20 – 30 minutes and then removed, dried to remove excess liquid and
reweighed
• The potato cylinder in the distilled water will have increased its mass the most • The potato
cylinder in the strongest sucrose concentration will have decreased its mass the most
• If there is a potato cylinder that has not increased or decreased in mass, it means there was no
overall movement of water into or out of the potato cells

Osmosis Experiments

• The most common osmosis practical involves cutting cylinders of potato and placing them into
distilled water and sucrose solutions of increasing concentration
• The potato cylinders are weighed before placing into the solutions
• They are left in the solutions for 20 – 30 minutes and then removed, dried to remove excess liquid and
reweighed
• The potato cylinder in the distilled water will have increased its mass the most as there is a greater
concentration gradient in this tube between the distilled water (high water potential) and the potato
 cells (lower water potential)
• This means more water molecules will move into the potato cells by osmosis, pushing the cell
membrane against the cell wall and so increasing the turgor pressure in the cells which makes them
turgid – the potato cylinders will feel hard

• The potato cylinder in the strongest sucrose concentration will have decreased its mass the most
as there is a greater concentration gradient in this tube between the potato cells (higher water
potential) and the sucrose solution (lower water potential)
• This means more water molecules will move out of the potato cells by osmosis, making them flaccid
and decreasing the mass of the cylinder – the potato cylinders will feel floppy • If looked at underneath
the microscope, cells from this potato cylinder might be plasmolysed, meaning the cell membrane has
pulled away from the cell wall

•
• If there is a potato cylinder that has not increased or decreased in mass, it means there was no
overall net movement of water into or out of the potato cells
• This is because the solution that cylinder was in was the same concentration as the solution found
in the cytoplasm of the potato cells, so there was no concentration gradient

Exam Tip
Questions involving osmosis experiments are common and you should be able to use your knowledge of
these processes to explain the results.

Don’t worry if it is an experiment you haven’t done – simply figure out where the higher concentration of
water molecules is – this is the solution with the higher water potential – and explain which way the
molecules move due to the differences in water potential.

Importance of Osmosis in Tissues

• When water moves into a plant cell, the vacuole gets bigger, pushing the cell membrane
against the cell wall
• Water entering the cell by osmosis makes the cell rigid and firm
• This is important for plants as the effect of all the cells in a plant being firm is to provide support and
strength for the plant – making the plant stand upright with its leaves held out to catch sunlight
• The pressure created by the cell wall stops too much water entering and prevents the cell from
bursting
• If plants do not receive enough water the cells cannot remain rigid and firm (turgid) and the plant
wilts.

Osmosis in Plant Tissues

• Plant cells that are turgid are full of water and contain a high turgor pressure (the pressure of the
cytoplasm pushing against the cell wall)
• This pressure prevents any more water entering the cell by osmosis, even if it is in a solution that
has a higher water potential than inside the cytoplasm of the cells
• This prevents the plant cells from taking in too much water and bursting
• Plant roots are surrounded by soil water and the cytoplasm of root cells has a lower water
potential than the soil water
• This means water will move across the cell membrane of root hair cells into the root by
osmosis
• The water moves across the root from cell to cell by osmosis until it reaches the xylem Once they
enter the xylem they are transported away from the root by the transpiration stream, helping to
maintain a concentration gradient between the root cells and the xylem vessels

Osmosis in Animal Tissues

• Animal cells also lose and gain water as a result of osmosis

• As animal cells do not have a supporting cell wall, the results on the cell are more severe • If an
animal cell is placed into a strong sugar solution (with a lower water potential than the cell), it will
lose water by osmosis and become crenated (shrivelled up)
• If an animal cell is placed into distilled water (with a higher water potential than the cell), it will gain
water by osmosis and, as it has no cell wall to create turgor pressure, will continue to do so until
the cell membrane is stretched too far and it bursts
What is Active Transport?

• Active transport is the movement of particles through a cell membrane from a region of lower
concentration to a region of higher concentration using energy from respiration

Examples of Active Transport

• Energy is needed because particles are being moved against a concentration gradient, in the
opposite direction from which they would naturally move (by diffusion)
• Examples of active transport include:
o uptake of glucose by epithelial cells in the villi of the small intestine and by kidney
tubules in the nephron
o uptake of ions from soil water by root hair cells in plants

o
 How Protein Molecules Move Particles

• Active transport works by using carrier proteins embedded in the cell membrane to pick up specific
molecules and take them through the cell membrane against their concentration gradient:

1.
1. Substance combines with carrier protein molecule in the cell membrane
2. Carrier transports substances across membrane using energy from respiration to give them
the kinetic energy needed to change shape and move the substance through the cell
membrane
3. Substance released into cell