AP BIOLOGY

LABORATORY REVIEW

DIFFUSION AND OSMOSIS

Question [CLICK ON ANY CHOICE TO KNOW THE RIGHT ANSWER]
Root hair cells bring in mineral salts from the soil by ____
A
Diffusion only
B
Osmosis only
C
Diffusion and Osmosis
D
Diffusion and Active Transport
Explanation: 

Detailed explanation-1: -They cannot be absorbed by diffusion, because the minerals are in very low concentration. Instead, active transport is used. The root hair cells have carrier proteins in their cell membranes. These pick up the mineral ions and move them across the membrane into the cell against the concentration gradient .

Detailed explanation-2: -Root hair cells They absorb mineral ions by active transport, against the concentration gradient.

Detailed explanation-3: -Water and mineral salts first enter through the cell wall and cell membrane of the root hair cell by osmosis. The root hairs small diameter and greater length makes sure that they have a large surface area over which to absorb water and mineral salts. Water fills the vacuole of the root hair cell.

Detailed explanation-4: -Active transport is the process that helps to move the molecules against a concentration gradient. So, the active transport is the process that moves mineral ions into root hair cells through membrane proteins.

Detailed explanation-5: -When a particular ion is in a higher concentration in the soil than in the root hair cell, it will passively move down its concentration gradient into the root without requiring any extra input of energy from the plant itself. This process is called diffusion.

There is 1 question to complete.