Concentration gradients
The idea of concentrations and gradients within them is important when understanding the movement of substances across cell membranes.
Concentration
When sucrose is dissolved in water:
The more particles there are in a certain volume, the more concentrated those particles are.
Solution one
Low solute concentration
A solution with a low solute concentration has a high water concentration, and a high water potential. Pure water has the highest water potential.
A concentration gradient exists when there is a region of high concentration leading to a region of low concentration:
- going from high to low concentration is going down the concentration gradient
- going from low to high concentration is going against the concentration gradient
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