Red blood cells placed in a solution with a higher water concentration compared to their contents (eg pure water) will gain water by osmosis, swell up and burst. Water will diffuse from a higher water concentration outside the cell to a lower water concentration inside the cell.
Q. What happens if a cell is surrounded by water?
When we put animal cells into pure, fresh water (H2O) , water enters the cells as a result of osmosis, and making the cell expand. Since animal cells do not have a cell wall, when too much of this water enters to make the concentration of water on both sides even, the animal cell may eventually burst, and die out.
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Q. What would happen if you place a freshwater plant cell into the ocean?
This is due to the fact that the salt water is a hypertonic solution when compared to the plant cells, and water inside the plant cells will diffuse by osmosis out of the cells in order to reduce the concentration of the salt solution. This will reduce the turgor pressure inside the cells and they will wilt.
Q. What kind of transport requires energy?
During active transport, substances move against the concentration gradient, from an area of low concentration to an area of high concentration. This process is “active” because it requires the use of energy (usually in the form of ATP). It is the opposite of passive transport.
Q. Is osmosis only water?
Osmosis is the movement of a solvent across a semipermeable membrane toward a higher concentration of solute. In biological systems, the solvent is typically water, but osmosis can occur in other liquids, supercritical liquids, and even gases.
Q. Is osmosis high to low?
“In osmosis, water moves from areas of low concentration of solute to areas of high concentration of solute.” So osmosis only occurs with a semipermeable membrane, and even with the membrane some water will move both sides. MORE water will move up the concentration gradient, thus there is a net flow up the gradient.
