Diffusion - Concentration Gradients, Diffusion In Cells, Water Diffusion: Osmosis - The importance of diffusion
bread gases
Diffusion is the movement of molecules along a concentration gradient, from an area of high concentration to one of low concentration. Diffusion proceeds until the two concentrations are equal. Diffusion occurs in both gases and liquids.
Diffusion takes place not only in liquid solutions, but in gases. The odor of bread wafting through a house is an example of the diffusion of bread-smell chemicals from a high concentration to a lower concentration.
Additional Topics
Cells are bounded by a double membrane composed of lipids. This membrane is punctured intermittently
Simple diffusion (top) and carrier-facilitated diffusion (bottom) in a red blood cell. Illustration by Hans & Cassidy. Courtesy of Gale Group.
with tiny pores. The membrane of a cell is thus selectively permeable: it keeps out certain substances but lets others pass through. The subs…
The special case of diffusion of water into and out of cells is called osmosis. Because osmosis is the diffusion of water, it is the movement of water from an area with a high concentration of water molecules to an area with a low concentration of water molecules; that is, water diffuses from an area in which water is abundant to an area in which water is scarce. Osmosis in cells is usually define…
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