Difference Between Osmosis And Diffusion

1067 Words3 Pages

Osmosis and diffusion are two natural phenomena that can be commonly observed in the laboratory with the use of the U-tube, as seen in this question, to highlight explicitly their differences. Diffusion is often considered the more straightforward of the two conceptually, while osmosis may come off as counterintuitive, however both actions exist and are of extreme importance to biological processes. Diffusion is the movement of molecules (of sugar, of dye, of salt; etc.) across either a permeable membrane or no membrane, from a region of higher concentration of said molecules to a region of lower concentration. It is exemplified in the way perfume diffuses through an entire room from the point where it was initially sprayed, or sugar dropped at the bottom of a cup of tea eventually sweetens the entire drink. Osmosis, on the other hand, is the process by which water molecules move …show more content…

Everything from the hormonal activities in animals and plants, to kidney dialysis machines which are used to selectively remove water and some salts and wastes from the kidneys of ill people are all possible by the actions of osmosis and diffusion (Reasoner 1). However, perhaps one of my favourite applications of osmosis is in the use of food preservation. Because fruits contain such a high percentage of water (they almost universally have water contents that are greater than 75% of their weight), they spoil relatively easily and quickly (RRTCAD). Historically, human beings have gotten around this issue by drying their fruit through intense heating, boiling or exposure to the sun. However, this method of desiccation may take away some of the more favourable qualities of fruit and has been shown not to preserve fruits as well as a process called osmotic dehydration. Osmotic dehydration is a less harsh method of drying that mimics nature. First fruits are dropped in scalding water (i.e.

Open Document