Osmotic Changes in Body Fluids (OCR Gateway GCSE Biology)

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How Osmosis Affects Animal Cells

  • Animal cells lose and gain water as a result of osmosis 
  • Body cells are surrounded by tissue fluid which is formed of
    • Water
    • Mineral ions
    • Food substances
    • Dissolved gases
  • Tissue fluid has a different water potential to the fluid in the cells and this is what causes the movement of water into or out of the cell
    • If an animal cell is placed into a strong sugar solution (with a lower water potential than the cell), it will lose water by osmosis and become crenated (shrivelled up)
    • If an animal cell is placed into distilled water (with a higher water potential than the cell), it will gain water by osmosis and, as it has no cell wall to create turgor pressure, will continue to do so until the cell membrane is stretched too far and it bursts
  • The osmotic balance between animal cell and its surroundings is fundamental as the absence of the cell wall means that effects of osmosis can be severe

Effect of osmosis on animal cellsOsmotic changes to body fluids has a direct impact on cells

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Ruth

Author: Ruth

Expertise: Biology

Ruth graduated from Sheffield University with a degree in Biology and went on to teach Science in London whilst also completing an MA in innovation in Education. She gained 10 years of teaching experience across the 3 key science disciplines and physical education. Ruth decided to set up a tutoring business to support students in her local area. Ruth has worked with several exam boards and loves to use her experience to produce educational materials which make the mark schemes accessible to all students.