What is passive transport?
Answers
Passive transport is a movement of ions and other atomic or molecular substances across cell membranes without need of energy input. Unlike active transport, it does not require an input of cellular energy because it is instead driven by the tendency of the system to grow in entropy
Answer:
Refer to the video for a great explanation
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=086_V5LNSOM&t=55s
Explanation:
TERMS
Passive transport -Type of transport that does not require energy to occur
Concentration gradient- A region of space over which the concentration of a substance changes
Permeability- The quality of a membrane that allows substances to pass through it
Equilibrium- The state at which a substance is equally distributed throughout a space
Types of passive transport
Diffusion
During diffusion, substances move from an area of high concentration to an area of low concentration, until the concentration becomes equal throughout a space.
This is also true for some substances moving into and out of cells. Because the cell membrane is semipermeable, only small, uncharged substances like carbon dioxide and oxygen can easily diffuse across it. Charged ions or large molecules require different kinds of transport.
Facilitated diffusion
Although gases can diffuse easily between the phospholipids of the cell membrane, many polar or charged substances (like chloride) need help from membrane proteins. Membrane proteins can be either channel proteins or carrier proteins.
Even though a concentration gradient may exist for these substances, their charge or polarity prevents them from crossing the hydrophobic center of the cell membrane. Substances transported through facilitated diffusion still move with the concentration gradient, but the transport proteins protect them from the hydrophobic region as they pass through.
Common mistakes and misconceptions
Not everything enters the cell through passive transport. Only the smallest molecules like water, carbon dioxide, and oxygen can freely diffuse across cell membranes. Larger molecules or charged molecules often require an input of energy to be transported into the cell.
Even when equilibrium is reached, particles do not stop moving across the cell membrane. Although it may seem as if the concentrations are not changing, nearly equal numbers of particles cross the membrane in both directions. This means that there is no net change in the concentration of the substances.
OSMOSIS
Osmosis is the movement of a solvent across a semipermeable membrane toward a higher concentration of solute (lower concentration of solvent). In biological systems, the solvent is typically water, but osmosis can occur in other liquids, supercritical liquids, and even gases.
Credits: Biomagica