Osmosis

Question 1

What is osmosis

Answer 1

The passage of water from a region where it has a high water potential to a region where it has lower water potential through a selectively permeable membrane

Question 2

What’s a solute

Answer 2

Any substances that is dissolved in a solvent

Question 3

What does the addition of a solute do to pure water

Answer 3

If lowers water potential

Question 4

What value must the water potential of a solution always be

Answer 4

Below 0

Question 5

If more solute is added, what happens to the water potential

Answer 5

Becomes more negative

Question 6

What happens now osmosis in red blood cells

Answer 6

If a red blood cell is placed in water it will absorb the water by osmosis because it has a lower water potential.

To prevent the cell surface breaking and bursting the cell and releasing its contents. Animal cells normally live in a liquid which has the same water potential

Question 7

What happens if a red blood cell is placed in a water potential lower then it’s own

Answer 7

If a red blood cell is placed in a Solution with a water potential lower than its own, water leaves by osmosis and the cell shrinks and becomes shrivelled

Question 8

What’s the plant cell like when the water potential is higher

Answer 8

The protoplast swells

It becomes turgid ( protoplast pushed against cell wall)

Question 9

What’s the plant cell like when the water potential is equal

Answer 9

No change in protoplast

Cell becomes incipient plasmolysis - protoplast beginning to pull away from the cell wall

Question 10

What’s the plant cell like when the water potential is lower

Answer 10

Protoplast shrinks

Cell becomes plasmolysed - protoplast completely pulled away from the cell wall