Osmosis in plants so called diffusion too. Need to understand the difference between osmosis and diffusion Because this both process transport molecules from region of higher concentration to region of lower concentration.
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$\begingroup$ See in diffusion co2 o2 gets transported from high concentration to low concentration through semi permeable membrane and And in osomosis also water gets transported from high concentration to low concentration through semi permeable membrane $\endgroup$– Het PatelDec 23, 2020 at 16:24
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1$\begingroup$ Does this answer your question? When does DIFFUSION occur and not OSMOSIS, and the otherwise? $\endgroup$– acvillDec 23, 2020 at 16:25
1 Answer
Because this both process transport molecules from region of higher concentration to region of lower concentration.
This is not strictly true. Molecules don't move in the same direction, rather the concentration moves towards equilibrium (higher to lower)
In Osmosis, the first characteristic is a semi permeable membrane. (More on such membranes in College level biology). Secondly, it is the solvent molecules that move, so that concentration is made equal on both sides of the membrane.
This is the most important feature in osmosis. Solvent molecules move, from a region of low concentration to higher concentration. When solvent molecules increase in a region of higher concentration (right side in the image), the concentration comes down; while that in the region of lower concentration (left side in the image), increases.
On the other hand, diffusion is the movement of the solute molecules. If you were to spray a perfume in one corner of a room, the smell would then be felt everywhere else. This is because the perfume molecules are diffusing through the room.
In a different example, suppose you have a box with a partition, full of gas. One side of the partition has the gas at high pressure and the other side has a low pressure. When you remove the partition, molecules of the gas will diffuse from the side with higher concentration to the side with lower concentration.
In summary, the difference between osmosis and diffusion can be found in identifying WHICH molecules move.