What is osmosis?

Osmosis is the net movement of solvent or diffusion of water through a semipermeable membrane such as a living cell into a region of higher solute concentration in a way that the solutes are equalized on the concentration of both sides.

Osmosis is an important aspect of the biological system as it acts as a transporter of water in and out of the cells.

Osmosis was first documented in 1748 by Jean-Antoine Nollet on the construction of Egyptian pyramids; the word Osmosis was craved from Greek words (Endon, which means within, EXO, which means outer and Osmos which means push).

This was done by Rene Joachim Henri Dutrochet, a French physician. It was later thoroughly studied by a German plant physiologist Wilhelm Pfeiffer in 1877.

Osmosis is defined as the net movement of SOLVENT molecules from a region of lower solute concentration to a region of higher solute concentration through a semi-permeable membrane. Only the solvent, which is water in most cases moves, the solute particles do not move. Most people often replace osmosis for diffusion and vice versa.

Diffusion, on the other hand, is the movement of VAPOR and other substances from regions of high concentration towards regions with lower concentrations. No semi-permeable membrane is needed for diffusion to take place. Although both osmosis and diffusion aim to equalize the concentration of the solution in a membrane, they are still not the same.

The correct answer to this question is Diffusion selectively permeable membrane. Osmosis occurs when water moves through the membrane of a cell. Another part of osmosis is water potential. This occurs when water moves in and out of the cell.

There are two types of water potentials, which are high potential and low potential. Pure water has a high water potential, while soluted water has a low potential. Osmosis is how plants take in water and the water is taken in through the plants roots. Our body also goes through osmosis and the process is intrical to keeping our kidneys clean.