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SS 1 Week 5

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9 views

SS 1 Week 5

Note

Uploaded by

obiomachukwudiude
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Week 5

The cell and its environment


Diffusion, Osmosis, Plasmolysis and haemolysis are simple physical processes
which are very importance to the chemical reaction taken place in the system.
Diffusion
Diffusion is defined as the movement of molecules (which can be gas, liquid or
solid) from the region of higher concentration to a region of lower concentration
until it is evenly distributed.
Experiment to Demonstrate Diffusion in Liquid
Take a beaker and fill it with distilled water. Use pipette to deliver small
quantity of potassium permanganate solution gently at the bottom of the beaker
and leave it to stand for few minutes. The purple colour of potassium
permanganate solution starts to spread outside.
Eventually, the colour spreads evenly throught out the water medium so that the
water have the same shade of purple colour.

Leave 11 lines for a diagram

Experiment to Demonstrate Diffusion in Gas


Take a bottle of ammonia solution, open the bottle and move some
distance away from the bottle and wait for some time. Then smell the air to
perceive the odour. The smell of the ammonia gas shows that diffusion of
ammonia gas has taken place.
Importance of Diffusion to Animals
1. Digested and soluble food diffuses from the villi of intestine into the blood
stream.
2. Gasesous exchange between Amoeba and water; gills of fish and water and
lungs and blood in mammals takes place by diffusion.
3. Nutrients and gases diffuse from the mother’s placenta to the foetus and waste
products from foetus to the placenta.
Importance of Diffusion in Flowering Plant
1. Water vapour leaving the leaves during traspiration is through the process of
diffusion.
2. Carbon(iv)oxide and oxygen enter and leave the body of flowering plants
through stomata and lenticels by diffusion.

OSMOSIS
Osmosis is the movement of water molecules from a region of low osmotic
pressure (weaker solution) to a region of high osmotic pressure (Higher solution)
through a semi-permeable membrane until equilibrium is achieved. In Osmosis,
the Solution which loses water in Osmosis is to be Hypotonic thus, it’s a weaker
solution. Solution that gains water is said to be Hypertonic, this is a stronger
Solution. When the state of equilibrium is established, that is neither solution
gains nor loses water, the solution becomes Isotonic.

Importance of Osmosis in Plants and Animals.


Plants
1. Absorption of water from the soil into the Vacuole of the root hair is by
Osmosis
2. It gives turgidity to the plant cell
3. It helps in the opening and closing of the stomata during the day and at night
respectively.
Animals
1. Hemolysis of the blood cell is due to Osmosis
2. The reabsorption of water in the kidney tubules of mammals is by Osmosis.
3. It gives turgidity to the animal cell
4. The absorption of water from the undigested food materials in the large
intestine is by osmosis
Plasmolysis
Plasmolysis is defined as the outward movement or flow of water from living cells
when they are placed in a hypertonic solution. Plasmolysis is often regarded as
the opposite of Osmosis.
When a plant cell is placed in a more concentrated salt or sugar solution than
that of the cell sap, water is lost by osmosis (exosmosis). As a result of water loss,
the Vacuole shrinks and the Cytoplasmic linings are pulled from the cell wall. The
cell between the cell wall and the Cytoplasm becomes filled with the
Concentrated Solution

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On the other hand, when the plasmolysed cell is again placed in distilled water or
pure water, water moves into the cell sap by osmosis (endosmosis). The Vacuole
increases in volume and swells towards the cytoplasm and cell wall. At this point,
the cell is said to be turgid.

Leave 7 lines for a diagram.

Haemolysis
Haemolysis is the bursting or splitting of the red blood Cells or Corpuscles in the
plasma due to too much water passing into it.
Normally, the blood plasma and the red blood Corpuscles are isotonic, that is
both the red blood cells and the plasma have the same Osmotic Concentration
(0.9% of Sodium Chloride in solution) If for some reason, the concentration in the
plasma falls (hypotonic), water will enter of Salt the red blood cells by Osmosis
(endosmosis) they the cell membrane; Continuous absorption of water into the
Cells will make the Cells very turgid and eventually burst. On the other hand if the
concentration of salt in the plasma is higher (hypertonic), water leaves the red
blood cells (exosmosis). The red blood cells will shrink (plasmolysed). This
phenomena is called Crenation. Heamolysis leads to anemia which eventually
cause death if not checked.
NB: Animal Cell wall has no Cellulose to resist the turgidity that is why they burst.

Leave 9 lines for a diagram.

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