I think active transport is involved in Osmosis, but I'd like a detailed answer (if possible) as to how osmosis occurs (not what it is) and the involvement of active transport.
-
Active transport is like the opposite of osmosis. Osmosis is the movement of WATER through a semi-permeable membrane from an area of HIGHER to LOWER concentration. This occurs passively without the need for any energy.
Active transport, as the name implies, is the movement of substances (not water) from an area of LOWER to HIGHER concentration. This requires the need for energy.
If you understand how diffusion works, osmosis is the same thing with a membrane in the way. If you open a perfume bottle in the corner of a room, eventually you'll smell that perfume throughout the room. If you had a bed sheet strung up so that it divided the room into two, the perfume would still move across to the other side of the room. This is how osmosis works. It is simply the movement of water through that membrane (like the perfume through the sheet). Eventually the concentration of the perfume will be the same on both sides of the room once it establishes an equilibrium.
Active transport, as the name implies, is the movement of substances (not water) from an area of LOWER to HIGHER concentration. This requires the need for energy.
If you understand how diffusion works, osmosis is the same thing with a membrane in the way. If you open a perfume bottle in the corner of a room, eventually you'll smell that perfume throughout the room. If you had a bed sheet strung up so that it divided the room into two, the perfume would still move across to the other side of the room. This is how osmosis works. It is simply the movement of water through that membrane (like the perfume through the sheet). Eventually the concentration of the perfume will be the same on both sides of the room once it establishes an equilibrium.