Hols 1

Eveline Hols
Professor Urban
Zool 2011.17
28 September 2015
Diffusion and Osmosis

Diffusion is defined as a passive transportation in which randomized particles or

molecules move from an area of higher concentration to an area of lower concentration. Since
diffusion is a passive process, kinetic energy is necessary for the particles moving within the
concentration gradient. In order for cells to survive, cells need nutrients inside the cells while
waste have to get out of the cell. A variety of factors contribute to the rate of diffusion such as
temperature. For example, a person who have a normal temperature of 37C and a person who
have a fever of 40C; the person with the fever will have an accelerated diffusion rate. If there is
a large membrane and small membrane, the larger membrane will have an accelerated rate of
diffusion.
Osmosis is defined as an active transportation, where a solvent from a less concentrated
area transports to a more concentrated area so it will equal the two concentrations. This process
requires chemical energy which is known to be active transportation. Without osmosis and
diffusion we would not exist or survive. Diffusion make it possible for the cells to get the
nutrients that are necessary for the cell from food. The nutrients are transported into the cell
membrane through diffusion and the same way with the waste from the cells. Oxygen and carbon
dioxide are also examples of diffusion. Oxygen diffuses in the alveolar air space in the lungs into
the blood circulation and carbon dioxide diffuses from the blood circulation system into the
alveolar in the lungs. Without the diffusion human beings would be poisoned by carbon dioxide.

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Cigarette smoke is also a diffusion that does not work well with the human body. Inhaling the
smoke without smoking can cause severe environmental impact on the human body. The smoke
diffuse with the air and the person breathe it in. Osmosis occurs in several places in the body. For
example, when taking a shower or when taken a bath, it is natural for fingers and toes to be
pruned as a result, cells want to take in the water from the pool or bathtub to make equilibrium.
In the small intestine, osmosis is very significant because the small intestine cells diffuse water
from the small intestine and transport it back to the system. If this did not happened, the water
would go out from our bodies. This is what happened with the choleric bacteria. This bacteria
effects the small intestine because they reverse the small intestines cells ionic orientations. The
meaning of this is that the small intestines cells do not absorb the water because they move the
water out from the body instead and it gives the person deadly watery diarrhea.

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Work Cited

Health, Environment, and Work. [Internet. 2014[cited on 2015 October 1} Available from
agius.com
Martini FH, Nath JL, Bartholomew EF. 2012. Anatomy and Physiology. San Francisco.
Pearson Education. 1113
Tortola/ Derrickson (2014)