what will the water do ? will if leave the cell

Question

Osmosis & Diffusion Lab – Dialysis Tubing

Answer 1

These diffusion and osmosis questions depend on a few things. So we would need more information.

The movement of water will depend on the osmolarity of solutes within the cell, compared to the osmolarity of solutes outside of the cell. Osmolarity is a measure of solute concentration per liter of fluid.

Water will always move to the area with a higher osmolarity (more solutes). The reason it moves is to attempt to establish equilibrium inside and outside of the cell.

Here is an example:

Say we have a single red blood cell in a solution. In the body, the typical osmolarity of solutes within the cell is 300mOsm. If the solution outside of the cell is 400mOsm, what happens? Well since the osmolarity is greater outside the cell, water will move from the inside of the cell to the outside solution in an effort to establish equilibrium. Since water has moved outside, the cell will shrink.

If our RBC is placed into a solution with an osmolarity of 200mOsm, then the water will move from the outside of the cell into the inside of the cell. More water moves inside, so the cell will swell.

Remember, we also have to consider if the solutes can cross the cell membrane. If the solute can diffuse across the membrane, the cell may initially swell or shrink, but eventually the cell will go back to normal size after the solute equilibrium is reached.

Answer 2

That depends on what solution you put the leaf in.