Biology Osmosis

Question: Discuss about the Biologyfor Osmosis. Answer: Introduction Osmosis is a process where molecules of water move an area of high concentration to the point of low concentration transversely in the cell membrane. Different concentrations of solutes and even water have an effect on the osmosis (Blewett and Taylor, 2011). The paper will address different effects of the 0.5M solution of sucrose, 1M sucrose, NaCl and water on the rates of osmosis. Water Osmosis needs water for it to happen and different concentration of water in cell membrane will have different effects on the rate of osmosis. First and for most, if the concentration of water in between two medium separated by cell membrane are equal, it means that the concentration gradient is zero. The cell membrane will retains its dynamic equilibrium then the movement of water molecules across the cell membrane will not occur (Hasni et al., 2016). The number of particles is the same within the two media. Hence they will be no drive to move from one end to another. On the other hand, when there are differences in water concentrations between the two media separated by the cell membrane, concentration gradient will develop. Water will them move from the region with high concentration to a media where there is a low concentration of water molecules. The water molecules will move till isotonic levels where the concentration gradient will be zero. This is where movement of water molecules will stop (Hilal, et al., 2015). The higher levels of water will increase the rates of osmosis across the cell membrane 0.5M Sucrose The 0.5M sucrose implies that in on liter of water, there are 0.5 moles of sucrose solute. This is 171.15 grams of sucrose for every 1 liter of water. The 0.5M sucrose will form a hypertonic solution in a cell membrane. As compared to pure water, the rates of osmosis here are higher. If the media separated by cell membrane contain water and 0.5M sucrose on the other ends, there will be high concentration gradient developed between the two media separated by a cell membrane (Stefani, 2014). The 0.5M sucrose has got fewer water molecules while water on the other end has got lots of its molecules. Water will then travel from the point of low concentration to the point of low water levels and for this case the region with 0.5M sucrose thus increasing the rate of osmosis across the plasma membrane. 1M Sucrose 1M sucrose means that there is 1mole of sucrose in one liter of water. This is 342.3 grams of sucrose for every 1 liter of water. The concentration of sucrose here is twice that of 0.5M sucrose. The concentration gradient developed will be high (Patankar and Mohalkar, 2014). It will form a strong hypertonic solution, and the cell membrane will allow molecules of water to shift across it starting at their point of high concentration to the area of lower concentration at a faster rate. NaCl and Osmosis Sodium chloride is a solute which has got an effect on the rates of osmosis. When a media containing water is separated by cell membrane with media containing sodium chloride, the concentration will develop, and the sodium chloride will draw in water (Reig, et al., 2014). Water then will move from their region of high concentration to medium of NaCl which is the area of low concentration of water molecules. However, the rates of osmosis in sodium chloride are higher as compared to 0.5M sucrose, water, and 1M sucrose. Sodium chloride will dissociate when mixed with water. Solute dissociation has got the high effect on osmolality where the Na+ will attract oxygen side of the water and Cl- will get attracted to hydrogen part of water (Reig, et al., 2014). The process will increase the rate of osmosis due to charges developed, and more water will be drawn into the medium containing molecules of sodium chloride. Conclusion The rates of osmosis across cell membrane are affected by different solutions. The rates movement of water from their point of more concentration to an area of low concentration transversely in the plasma membrane depends on the type and the amount of solute present in the medium. From the discussion, osmosis across cell membranes separated by NaCl is higher in comparison to that of 1M sucrose and 0.5M sucrose. The NaCl can dissociate therefore its molecules will attract water molecules faster due to developed charge thus facilitating the concentration gradient. Also, 1M sucrose will develop high concentration f gradient as compared to 0.5M sucrose. This is because 1M sucrose is more concentrated hence it will draw in lots of water. 0.5M sucrose is twice lower than 1M sucrose, and it will have twice lower concentration gradient. The rate of osmosis across cell membrane will be slow when the medium separated by cell membrane is only made of water irrespective of their levels. Reference Lists Blewett, M. and Taylor, Z., 2011. Diffusion and Osmosis. Hasni, A., Roy, P. and Dumais, N., 2016. The Teaching and Learning of Diffusion and Osmosis: What Can We Learn from Analysis of Classroom Practices? A Case Study.Eurasia Journal of Mathematics, Science Technology Education,12(6), pp.1507-1531. Hilal, N., Qasim, M., Darwish, N. and Sarp, S., 2015. Water desalination by forward (direct) osmosis phenomenon: A comprehensive review. Patankar, N. and Mohalkar, S., 2014, June. Comparative Study on Shelf Life and Mass Transfer Properties of Dried Pumpkin Pretreated with Sucrose and Brine Solution. InInternational Journal of Engineering Research and Technology(Vol. 3, No. 6 (June-2014)). IJERT. Reig, M., Casas, S., Aladjem, C., Valderrama, C., Gibert, O., Valero, F., Centeno, C.M., Larrotcha, E. and Cortina, J.L., 2014. Concentration of NaCl from seawater reverse osmosis brines for the chlor-alkali industry by electrodialysis.Desalination,342, pp.107-117. Stefani, M., 2014. Forward osmosis: influence of sucrose and sodium chloride as draw solutions on process performance.