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YOUR NOTES
IGCSE Biology CIE 

3. Movement into & out of Cells

CONTENTS
3.1 Diffusion, Osmosis & Active Transport
3.1.1 Diffusion
3.1.2 Factors that Influence Diffusion
3.1.3 Water
3.1.4 Osmosis
3.1.5 Osmosis Experiments
3.1.6 Osmosis in Animals & Plants
3.1.7 Active Transport
3.1.8 Proteins & Active Transport

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3.1 Diffusion, Osmosis & Active Transport YOUR NOTES


3.1.1 Diffusion
Diffusion
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

Diffusion across the cell membrane

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:
obtain many of their requirements
get rid of many of their waste products
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

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(e.g. enough light and a suitable temperature) YOUR NOTES

Examples of Diffusion Table 

Where does the energy for diffusion come from?

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

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YOUR NOTES


Brownian motion

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3.1.2 Factors that Influence Diffusion YOUR NOTES


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)

Cell adaptations for diffusion

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YOUR NOTES


The highly folded surface of the small intestine increases its surface area

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

 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.

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3.1.3 Water YOUR NOTES


Water as a Solvent
Water is important for all living organisms as many substances are able to
dissolve in it (it is a solvent)
This makes it incredibly useful and essential for all life on Earth
Water is important as a solvent in the following situations within organisms:
Dissolved substances can be easily transported around organisms - eg xylem
and phloem of plants and dissolved food molecules in the blood
Digested food molecules are in the alimentary canal but need to be moved to
cells all over the body - without water as a solvent this would not be able to
happen
Toxic substances such as urea and substances in excess of requirements such
as salts can dissolve in water which makes them easy to remove from the
body in urine
Water is also an important part of the cytoplasm and plays a role in ensuring
metabolic reactions can happen as necessary in cells

Water as a solvent

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3.1.4 Osmosis YOUR NOTES


Osmosis
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 and the partially permeable membrane

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3.1.5 Osmosis Experiments YOUR NOTES


Osmosis Experiments
Immersing plant cells in solutions of different concentrations
The most common osmosis practical involves cutting cylinders of root vegetables
such as potato or radish and placing them into distilled water and sucrose
solutions of increasing concentration
The 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

Potatoes are usually used in osmosis experiments to show how the concentration of
a solution affects the movement of water, but radishes can be used too

If the plant tissue gains mass:

Water must have moved into the plant tissue from the solution surrounding it
by osmosis

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The solution surrounding the tissue is more dilute than the plant tissue (which YOUR NOTES
is more concentrated) 
If plant tissue loses mass:
Water must have moved out of the plant tissue into the solution surrounding it
by osmosis
The solution surrounding the tissue is more concentrated than the plant tissue
(which is more dilute)
If there is no overall change in mass:
There has been no net movement of water as the concentration in both the
plant tissue and the solution surrounding it must be equal
Remember that water will still be moving into and out of the plant tissue, but
there wouldn’t be any net movement in this case
Investigating osmosis using dialysis tubing
Dialysis tubing (sometimes referred to as visking tubing) is a non-living partially
permeable membrane made from cellulose
Pores in this membrane are small enough to prevent the passage of large
molecules (such sucrose) but allow smaller molecules (such as glucose and
water) to pass through by diffusion and osmosis
This can be demonstrated by:
Filling a section of dialysis tubing with concentrated sucrose solution
Suspending the tubing in a boiling tube of water for a set period of time
Noting whether the water level outside the tubing decreases as water moves
into the tubing via osmosis
Water moves from a region of higher water potential (dilute solution) to a
region of lower water potential (concentrated solution), through a partially
permeable membrane

An example setup of a dialysis tubing experiment.

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3.1.6 Osmosis in Animals & Plants YOUR NOTES


Osmosis in Plant 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

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Osmosis: Extended YOUR NOTES

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):

How osmosis works

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YOUR NOTES
 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.

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Osmosis in Animals & Plants: Extended YOUR NOTES

Plant cells in solutions of different concentrations 
When plant cells are placed in a solution that has a higher water potential (dilute
solution) than inside the cells (e.g. distilled water) then water moves into the plant
cells via osmosis
These water molecules push the cell membrane against the cell wall, increasing
the turgor pressure in the cells which makes them turgid

A turgid plant cell

When plant cells are placed in a concentrated solution (with a lower water
potential than inside the cells) water molecules will move out of the plant cells by

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osmosis, making them flaccid YOUR NOTES

If plant cells become flaccid it can negatively affect the plant's ability to 
support itself
If looked at underneath the microscope, the plant cells might be plasmolysed,
meaning the cell membrane has pulled away from the cell wall

A plasmolysed plant cell

Animal cells in solutions of different concentrations

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

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If an animal cell is placed into a strong sugar solution (with a lower water YOUR NOTES
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

Effect of osmosis on animal cells

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3.1.7 Active Transport YOUR NOTES


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

The process of active transport

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3.1.8 Proteins & Active Transport YOUR NOTES


Importance of Active Transport: Extended
Energy is needed because particles are being moved against a concentration
gradient, in the opposite direction from which they would naturally move (by
diffusion)
Active transport is vital process for the movement of molecules or ions across
membranes
Including:
uptake of glucose by epithelial cells in the villi of the small intestine and by
kidney tubules in the nephron
uptake of ions from soil water by root hair cells in plants

Protein Carriers: Extended

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. 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

Carrier proteins in active transport.

 Exam Tip
You don't need to know anything about the phospholipid bilayer when it
comes to active transport!

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