Factors Affecting the Rate of Diffusion (Edexcel GCSE Biology)

• The rate of diffusion in an organism can be affected by the surface area, diffusion distance, concentration gradient and temperature

Surface area

• The bigger a cell or structure is, the smaller its surface area to volume ratio is, slowing down the rate at which substances can move across its surface
• Many cells which are adapted for diffusion have increased surface area in some way - e.g. root hair cells in plants (which absorb water and mineral ions) and cells lining the ileum in animals (which absorb the products of digestion)

The highly folded surface of the small intestine increases its surface area

Diffusion distance

• The smaller the distance molecules have to travel the faster transport will occur
• This is why blood capillaries and alveoli have walls which are only one cell thick, ensure the rate of diffusion across them is as fast as possible

Concentration gradient

• The greater the difference in concentration on either side of the membrane, the faster movement across it will occur
• This is because on the side with the higher concentration, more random collisions against the membrane will occur

Temperature

• The higher the temperature, the faster molecules move as they have more energy
• This results in more collisions against the cell membrane and therefore a faster rate of movement across them

Summary of Diffusion Factors Table

Fick's law

• The rate of diffusion can be described using Fick's law:

Rate of diffusion ∝ (surface area x concentration gradient) ÷ diffusion distance

• "∝" means proportional to
• According to the law, if the surface area or concentration gradient doubles, or the diffusion distance halves, then the rate of diffusion will double