Osmosis

• Osmosis is the diffusion of water molecules across a partially permeable membrane from a region of higher water concentration to a region of lower water concentration.
• The concentration of water in a solution is not the volume of water but the proportion of water to solutes.
• If two beakers are joined together through a partially permeable membrane, the water will diffuse from the beaker with a higher concentration of solutes to the beaker with a lower concentration of solutes by osmosis.
• Osmosis occurs across cell membranes, where cytoplasm within cells generally has a relatively high concentration of solutes because of all the sugars and salts that the cell needs to survive, resulting in a relatively low concentration of water.
• Water from the outside of the cell will diffuse into the cell through osmosis.
• If too much water diffuses into the cell, it may cause the cell to burst like a balloon if it's a plant cell.
• If the water concentration outside the cell is lower than inside, too much water may leave the cell, causing it to become dehydrated and we would then refer to it as flaccid.