Cells pick up materials like food, water, etc., by various methods
Some of the most common methods include diffusion and osmosis
Water moves from region of higher solute (e.g. sugar) concentration to a region of lower solute concentration through a semipermeable membrane
This movement of water from a region of higher solute concentration to region of lower solute concentration through a semipermeable membrane is called osmosis
When the water concentration outside the cell is higher than inside the cell then the water moves inside this is called endosmosis
When the water concentration outside the cell is lower than inside the cell then the water moves outside this is called exosmosis
An experiment to demonstrate endosmosis and exosmosis
The simple experiment will show the process to demonstrate exosmosis and endosmosis
This experiment requires a few things: Some raisins, Some grapes, Containers, Water, Sugar solution
The procedure of the experiment
Put some raisins in a bowl containing water
Put some grapes in another bowl having thick sugar syrup. Observe the changes for 10-12 hours
Observation made in the experiment
The raisins kept in the water swelled up due to the movement of water from the beaker into the raisins
The grapes kept in sugar solution shrunk due to the movement of water out from the grapes
Conclusion of the experiment
The raisins swell because water concentration outside was higher than in the raisin. This made water to move inside the raisins
The raisins are swollen because the water moved inside i.e. endosmosis occurred.
The grapes, on the other hand, shrunk because the water from inside the grapes moved outside
Since the water is moving from inside the cells to the outside, we say exosmosis occurred
In both cases, water movement occurred and the peel acted as a semi-permeable membrane
Revision
This movement of water from a region of higher solute concentration to a region of lower solute concentration through a semipermeable membrane is called osmosis
When the water concentration outside the cell is higher than inside the cell then the water moves inside this is called endosmosis
When the water concentration outside the cell is lower than inside the cell then the water moves outside this is called exosmosis