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Questions and Answers
What is osmosis?
What is osmosis?
Osmosis is the spontaneous net movement or diffusion of solvent molecules through a selectively-permeable membrane from a region of high water potential to a region of low water potential, in the direction that tends to equalize the solute concentrations on the two sides.
How is osmotic pressure defined?
How is osmotic pressure defined?
Osmotic pressure is defined as the external pressure required to be applied so that there is no net movement of solvent across the membrane.
What is the relationship between osmotic pressure and the molar concentration of the solute?
What is the relationship between osmotic pressure and the molar concentration of the solute?
Osmotic pressure is a colligative property, meaning that it depends on the molar concentration of the solute but not on its identity.
What is the role of osmosis in biological systems?
What is the role of osmosis in biological systems?
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How can osmosis be used to do work?
How can osmosis be used to do work?
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What is diffusion?
What is diffusion?
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What drives diffusion?
What drives diffusion?
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Is diffusion a stochastic process?
Is diffusion a stochastic process?
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In which fields beyond physics is diffusion and its mathematical models used?
In which fields beyond physics is diffusion and its mathematical models used?
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Where is the concept of diffusion widely used?
Where is the concept of diffusion widely used?
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Study Notes
Osmosis
- Osmosis is the spontaneous net movement of solvent molecules through a selectively-permeable membrane from a region of high water potential to a region of low water potential.
- It occurs in the direction that tends to equalize the solute concentrations on the two sides of the membrane.
- Osmosis can also describe the movement of any solvent across a selectively permeable membrane separating two solutions of different concentrations.
Osmotic Pressure
- Osmotic pressure is the external pressure required to prevent the net movement of solvent across the membrane.
- It is a colligative property, depending on the molar concentration of the solute, but not on its identity.
Importance of Osmosis
- Osmosis is a vital process in biological systems, as biological membranes are semipermeable.
Diffusion
- Diffusion is the net movement of anything from a region of higher concentration to a region of lower concentration.
- It is driven by a gradient in Gibbs free energy or chemical potential.
- Diffusion can occur "uphill" from a region of lower concentration to a region of higher concentration, as in spinodal decomposition.
- It is a stochastic process due to the inherent randomness of the diffusing entity.
Applications of Diffusion
- Diffusion is used in several fields beyond physics, including statistics, probability theory, information theory, neural networks, finance, and marketing.
- The concept of diffusion is widely used in many fields, including physics, chemistry, biology, sociology, economics, statistics, data science, and finance.
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Description
Test your knowledge of osmosis with this quiz! Explore the process of spontaneous solvent movement through a selectively-permeable membrane and the factors that influence this phenomenon. See how well you understand the movement of solvent molecules from regions of high water potential to low water potential in order to equalize solute concentrations.
