Concentration gradients

The idea of concentrations and gradients within them is important when understanding the movement of substances across cell membranes.

Concentration
When sucrose is dissolved in water:

 the solute is sucrose

 water is the solvent

The more particles there are in a certain volume, the more concentrated
those particles are. Solution one
Low solute concentration
A solution with a low solute concentration has a high water concentration, and a high water potential. Pure
water has the highest water potential.

A concentration gradient exists when there is a region of high concentration leading to a region of low
concentration:

 going from high to low concentration is going down the concentration gradient
 going from low to high concentration is going against the concentration gradient

Diffusion
Dissolved or gaseous substances have to pass through the cell membrane to get into or out of a cell. Diffusion is
one of the processes that allows this to happen.

Diffusion occurs when particles spread. They move from a region where they are in high concentration to a
region where they are in low concentration. Diffusion happens when the particles are free to move. This is true
in gases and for particles dissolved in solutions - but diffusion does not occur in solids.

Particles diffuse down a concentration gradient, from an area of high concentration to an area of low
concentration. This is how the smell of cooking travels around the house from the kitchen, for example.

Diffusion experiment

Potassium permanganate is placed into a beaker of water

Examples of diffusion in living organisms

Products of digestion, dissolved in water, can pass across the wall of the small intestine by diffusion. Their
concentration is higher in the small intestine than their concentration in the blood, so there is a concentration
gradient from the intestine to the blood.

Oxygen and carbon dioxide, dissolved in water, are exchanged by diffusion in the lungs:

 oxygen moves down a concentration gradient from the air in the alveoli to the blood
 carbon dioxide moves down a concentration gradient from the blood to the air in the alveoli
The dissolved substances will only continue to diffuse while there is a concentration gradient.

Gas exchange in the lungs happening in the

alveoliv
Osmosis
Osmosis is the diffusion of water molecules, from a region of higher concentration to a region of lower
concentration, through a partially permeable membrane. A dilute solution contains a high concentration of water
molecules, while a concentrated solution contains a low concentration of water molecules.

Partially permeable membranes are also called selectively permeable membranes or semi-permeable
membranes. They let some substances pass through them, but not others.

The slideshow shows an example of osmosis:

Osmosis experiment
The beaker contains water and sugar molecules

In the slideshow, eventually the level on the more concentrated side of the membrane rises, while the one on the less
concentrated side falls.

When the concentration is the same on both sides of the membrane, the movement of water molecules will be the
same in both directions. At this point, the net exchange of water is zero and there is no further change in the

liquid levels. Osmosis in cells

The results of osmosis are different in plant and animal cells.

Plant cells
Plant cells have a strong cellulose cell wall on the outside of the cell membrane. This supports the cell and stops
it bursting when it gains water by osmosis.

A plant cell in a dilute solution (higher water potential than the cell contents)

Water enters the cell by osmosis. The cytoplasm pushes against the cell wall and the cell becomes turgid.

A plant cell in a concentrated solution (lower water potential than the cell contents)

Water leaves the cell by osmosis. The cytoplasm pulls away from the cell wall (plasmolysis) and the cell
becomes flaccid and the plant wilts.

Turgid plant cells play an important part in supporting the plant.

Animal cells
Animal cells do not have a cell wall. They change size and shape when put into solutions that are at a different
concentration to the cell contents.
For example, red blood cells:

 gain water, swell and burst in a more dilute solution (this is called haemolysis)
 lose water and shrink in a more concentrated solution (they become crenated or wrinkled)

These things do not happen inside the

body. Osmoregulationinvolving the kidneys ensures
that the concentration of the blood stays about the
same as the concentration of the cell contents.
Active transport
Active transport is the movement of dissolved molecules into or out of a cell through the cell membrane, from a region of lower
concentration to a region of higher concentration. The particles move against the concentration gradient, using energy released
during respiration.

Osmosis experiments
Visking tubing is an artificial partially permeable membrane:

 smaller molecules like water and glucose pass through its microscopic holes
 larger molecules like starch and sucrose cannot pass through it
The slideshow shows a typical experiment using Visking tubing and sucrose solution:

Visking tubing experiment

1. The Visking tubing is partly submerged into water and the liquid rises

The sucrose solution is hypertonic to the water – it is a more concentrated solution. There is a net movement of
water molecules, by osmosis, from the water outside to the sucrose solution inside the Visking tubing. This
makes the liquid level in the capillary tube rise.

A less concentrated solution is hypotonic to a more concentrated solution, while two solutions at the same
concentration are isotonic.

The table summarises the results of the four combinations of water and 10% sucrose in the experiments,
showing the movement of water and solute across a concentration gradient.

Liquid outside Liquid inside Water moves Solute moves Result

Water 10% sucrose Outside → inside Inside → outside Liquid level rises

10% sucrose Water Inside → outside Outside → inside Liquid level falls
Liquid outside Liquid inside Water moves Solute moves Result

Water Water No movement No movement No visible change

10% sucrose 10% sucrose No movement No movement No visible change

Living cells experiment

Cylinders or discs of fresh potato are often used to investigate osmosis in living cells. To carry out this type of
experiment, you need to:

1. cut equal-sized pieces of potato

2. blot with tissue paper and weigh
3. put pieces into different concentrations of sucrose solution for a few hours
4. remove, blot with tissue paper and reweigh
The percentage change in mass can be calculated for each piece of potato:

Example 1

A piece of potato has a mass of 2.5 g at the start and 3.0 g at the end.

percentage change in mass = (3.0 – 2.5) ÷ 2.5 × 100 = 0.5 ÷ 2.5 × 100 = +20%

The plus sign shows that it has gained mass - it will have gained water by osmosis.

Example 2

A piece of potato has a mass of 2.5 g at the start and 2.0 g at the end.

percentage change in mass = (2.0 – 2.5) ÷ 2.5 × 100 = –0.5 ÷ 2.5 × 100 = –20%

The minus sign shows that it has lost mass - it will have lost water by osmosis.

Example results

A graph of change in mass (vertical axis) against concentration of sucrose (horizontal axis) can be plotted.

Where the line crosses the horizontal axis at 0% change in mass, the sucrose concentration is equal to the concentration
of the contents of the potato cells. The sucrose concentration is isotonic with the cells' cytoplasm, so there is no net
movement of water by osmosis1
molecules, they still have to be absorbed. Carrier proteinspick up specific molecules and take them through the cell membrane against
the concentration gradient.

Examples of active transport include:

 uptake of glucose by epithelial cells in the villi of the small intestine

 uptake of ions from soil water by root hair cells in plants

Active transport vs diffusion and osmosis

Diffusion Osmosis Active transport

Down a concentration
✓ ✓ ✗
gradient

Against a concentration
✗ ✗ ✓
gradient

Energy needed ✗ ✗ ✓

Substance moved Dissolved solutes Water Dissolved solutes

Gases and dissolved gases Partially permeable Carrier protein

Notes
also diffuse membrane needed needed

1. What is diffusion?
=Diffusion is the overall movement of particles from high to low concentration, not the other way round. Active transport uses energy to move particles
from low to high concentration.2

2. Which of these three liquids has the highest water potential?

=Pure water Pure water has the highest water potential. Any dissolved solutes reduce the water potential. 3

3. Which process is responsible for gas exchange in the lungs?

Diffusion Diffusion is responsible for gas exchange. Carbon dioxide leaves the blood and enters the air, and oxygen leaves the air and enters the
blood. Both gases move through the cell membrane down a concentration gradient.4

4. What will happen to cut fruit pieces sprinkled with sugar?

The cut fruit pieces will lose water by osmosis. The water passes through the cell membrane from the cytoplasm, forming a concentrated sugar solution
on the surface of the fruit.5

5. What is osmosis?
In osmosis, the overall movement of water is from a region of high water concentration (low solute concentration) to a region of low water concentration
(high solute concentration), not the other way around.6

6. What happens to red blood cells when they are put into water?

Red blood cells in water gain water by osmosis. The cells would lose water in a more concentrated solution. 7

7. Why do plant cells become flaccid in concentrated sugar solution?

Plant cells lose water by osmosis and become flaccid, when they are placed in concentrated sugar solution. They gain water when placed in water or a
very dilute solution.8

8. Which process needs carrier proteins in the cell membrane?

Active transportActive transport needs carrier proteins but diffusion does not. Unlike diffusion, active transport also needs energy from respiration.9

9. Which process happens against a concentration gradient?

Active transport happens against a concentration gradient (from low concentration to high concentration), whereas diffusion happens down a
concentration gradient.10

10. What happens to the rate of diffusion as the temperature increases?

It increases

10 Properties of Water

1.Polar covalent bonds- are a type of covalent bond and means unequal sharing of electrons.
2.High Heat Capacity - huge amount of heat stored.Water's heat capacity stores a lot of heat which is
why it is difficult to boil water.
3.Density - the amount of thickness in a substance. Water's density is less and more stable as a solid.
4.Capillary Action - is the movement of liquid to slide through narrow areas by the attraction of
molecules of the liquid to the molecules of the solid.
5Solute - substance dissolved in a solevent to form a solution.
6.Solvent - fluid that dissolves solute.
7.Surface Tension - water is pulled together creating the smallest surface area possible.
8.Cohesion - water attracted to other water molecules becayse of polar
properties.
9.Adhesion - water attracted to other molecules.
10.Gas, Liquid, and Solid - are known as the three states of matter or material, but each of solid and
liquid states may exist in one or more forms
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