osmosis

    Cards (10)

    • osmosis is a special case of diffusion
    • osmosis
      is the movement of water molecules across a partially permeable membrane from a region of higher water concentration to a region of lower water concentration
    • a partially permeable membrane is just one with very small holes in it
    • only tiny molecules can pass through a partially permeable membrane
    • bigger molecules cant pass through a partially permeable membrane
    • water molecules can actually pass both ways through the membrane during osmosis
    • this happens becuase water molecules move about randomly all the time
    • because there are more water molecules on one side than the other theres a steady net flow of water into the region with fewer water molecules
    • this means the strong sugar solution gets more dilute
    • the water acts like its trying to even up the concentration either side of the membrane