Movement in and out of cells happen

through the following three mechanisms :

1. Diffusion
2. Osmosis
Movement of 3. Active transport
substances
2d

Factors that affects the rate of movement of substances

1. Surface area to volume ratio and Surface Area

• The bigger a cell or structure is, the smaller its surface area to volume ratio will be. Having smaller surface
area to volume ratio, slows down the rate at which substances can move across its surface.

• Smaller cells and organisms (such as bacteria) have bigger surface area to volume ratio, so the substances
can move across the surface at a faster rate.

Surface area –Many cells which are adapted for diffusion have increased surface area in some way – e.g root
hair cells in plants (which absorb water and mineral ions) and cells lining the ileum in animals (which absorb
the products of digestion)
 3. Concentration Gradient
• The greater the difference in concentration either side of the membrane,
2. Temperature the faster the rate of movement(diffusion) will be.
• The higher the temperature, the faster the molecules move as they have more kinetic
energy.

• This happens because, there will be more random collisions against the
• This results in more collisions against the cell membrane and therefore a faster rate of membrane on the side with the higher concentration.
movement(diffusion) across them.

4. Distance of Diffusion (Thickness of Membrane)

Diffusion
• Shorter the distance for diffusion (thinner the membrane) faster the rate of
diffusion will be.
 Diffusion in Living Organisms

• Diffusion is the movement of molecules from a region

of their higher concentration to a region of their
lower concentration down a concentration gradient ,as
a result of their random movement.

Diffusion across the cell membrane

1) Living cells, obtain their requirements , through diffusion across the partially permeable
Diffusion cell membrane.
2) Even though the principle of the movement down a concentration gradient is the same,
across a the cell membrane can restrict the free movement of the molecules.
partially 3) The partially permeable membrane allows some molecules to cross easily, for other
molecules to move with difficulty or not at all, based on the size of the molecules.
permeable
4) Diffusion helps living organisms to, obtain their requirements, get rid of their waste
membrane products and carry out gas exchange for respiration.
Examples of diffusion in living organisms

Intestinal villi Help to increase the

surface area

Root hair cell is specially adapted to

increase diffusion
A concentration gradient occurs
when the concentration of
particles is higher in one area
than another. In passive
transport, particles will diffuse
down a concentration gradient,
from areas of
higher concentration to areas of
lower concentration, until they
are evenly spaced. Osmosis

Osmosis- • Osmosis is the net movement of water

Definition molecules from a region of higher water
potential (dilute solution) to a region of lower
Osmosis 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 and a concentrated solution has a low water
potential.
 The effects of plants cells when kept in Dilute
Solutions(High water Potential)/Distilled Water

The effects on plant tissues of

immersing
them in Dilute Solutions(High
water Potential) and
Concentrated Solutions(Low
Water Potential)

Since the cell has a strong cell wall it stops the cell from bursting.
The effects of
Plants cells when The cytoplasm press out against the cell wall, but the cell wall stops
it from bursting and resists and presses back on the contents.
kept in Dilute
Solutions(High A plant cell in this state is tight and firm and said to be turgid.
water The turgidity of the cells ,helps a plant to stay upright and keep the
Potential)/Distilled
leaves firm.

Water Plant cells are usually turgid.

The effects of plants cells when kept in Concentrated The effects of plants cells when kept in Concentrated
Solutions(Low water Potential) Solutions(Low water Potential)

Plant cell becomes flaccid and may

plasmolyse in a concentrated solution Plant cell becomes turgid in pure water

Turgity
and
Flaccidity
Turgidity, Flaccidity and Plasmolysis
The importance of water potential and osmosis in the uptake of water by plants

Osmosis in Animal Tissues

Animal cell bursts in pure water Animal cell shrinks in a concentrated solution
Activity 2 What is Active Transport?

• Summarize , what happens to an animal cell and a plant cell when • Active transport is the movement of particles
kept in a diluted solution and a concentrated solution. One has been
done for you (through a cell membrane) from a region of lower
Solution Animal Cell Plant Cell
concentration to a region of higher
Dilute Solution/Pure water Burst
concentration using energy (from respiration).

*Energy is needed because particles are being moved against a

concentration gradient, in the opposite direction from which they would
Concentrated Solution naturally move (by diffusion).

Particles are Examples of Active Transport

moving against
1) Uptake of glucose by epithelial cells in the villi of the small
a concentration intestine.
gradient.

2) Uptake of glucose by kidney by the nephron.

3) 3. Uptake of ions from soil water by root hair cells in

plants.
(Root hair cells in plants take in nitrate ions from the soil using active transport . Usually the
concentration of nitrate ions inside the root hair cell is higher than the concentration in the
soil. )
 How Protein Molecules Move Particles Active Transport Across the cell membrane
• 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 proteins, transports substances across membrane

using energy from respiration. Energy released by respiration
is need to change the shape of the carrier protein molecule
and move the substance through the cell membrane.

3) Substance is released into cell.