Difference between Osmosis and Diffusion: You would have often seen spraying perfume or room fresheners in the room the smell of the perfume or fresheners gets diffused and you would sense the odor. Also while gardening or watering the plants you would see the water get absorbed by the soil, this is due to the phenomenon of osmosis. The wonders of diffusion and osmosis are common in our daily lives. Oftentimes people get confused about the two terms, namely diffusion and Osmosis. to understand the concept clearly it is necessary to know the difference between the two.. The major difference between the two is that in Osmosis, the water or solvent moves from a lower concentration to a higher concentration, while in diffusion the solvent particles move from a higher concentration level to a lower concentration level.
Difference between Osmosis and Diffusion
The difference between Osmosis and diffusion is that in Osmosis the solvent particles move through a semipermeable membrane whereas in diffusion the solvent particles do not require a semipermeable membrane. Osmosis and Diffusion are important topics in chemistry. The other differences are tabulated below.
| Parameter | Osmosis | Diffusion |
| Definition | It is defined as the phenomenon of the movement of solvent particles across a semi-permeable form. | It can be defined as the movement of particles from a region of higher concentration to a region of lower concentration. |
| Semi-permeable membrane | It requires a semi-permeable membrane. | It has no need for a semi-permeable membrane. |
| Medium | It takes place only in a liquid medium. | It takes place in any medium- solid, liquid, or gas. |
| Concentration | The solvent’s concentration does not become equal on both of the membrane sides. | The diffusion substance’s concentration equalizes to fill the space available. |
| Dependence | It depends on solute potential. Furthermore, it mainly depends on the number of solute particles in the solvent. | It does not depend on solute potential, water potential, or pressure potential. Furthermore, it depends mainly on the presence of other particles. |
| Movement | The movement in osmosis is such that it seeks to equalize solvent concentration, though it does not happen. | The movement in diffusion equalizes concentration throughout the entire system. |
| Hydrostatic pressure and turgor pressure | These two pressures oppose osmosis. | These two pressures do not normally apply to diffusion. |
| Types of Solution | Occurs only between similar types of solutions. | Occurs between similar and dissimilar types of solutions. |
Overview of Osmosis
Osmosis is defined as a passive process that happens without any expenditure of energy. It involves the movement of solvent particles from a region of higher concentration to a lower concentration until the concentrations become equal on either side of the membrane.
Types of Osmosis: The process of Osmosis is of two types:
| Endosmosis | When placed in a hypotonic solution, the solvent particle moves inside the cell and becomes swollen, and undergoes deplasmolysis. |
| Exosmosis | When placed in a hypertonic solution, the solvent particles move outside the cell and hence cell becomes loose and undergoes plasmolysis. |
Factors affecting Osmosis: Some of the factors that affect osmosis are-
- Temperature
- Pressure
- Concerntration gradiemts
- Surface area
- Water Potential
Examples of Osmosis:
- Having salty food-thirsty feelings is an example of Osmosis.
- Dialysis of the kidney.
- Swelling of almonds and other dry fruits when they are soaked in water.
- Swelling up of RBCs when exposed to fresh water.
Overview of Diffusion
Diffusion is referred to as the movement of molecules under a concentration gradient from a higher concentration level to a lower concentration level through a semi-permeable membrane. Diffusion is the movement of substances in and out of the cells.
Types of Diffusion:
| Simple diffusion | A process in which the substance moves through a semipermeable membrane that does not requires membrane protein. |
| Facilitated diffusion | Facilitated diffusion is a passive movement of molecules across the cell membrane which requires carrier molecules from the region of higher concentration gradient to the region of lower concentration gradient. |
Factors affecting Diffusion
Some of the factors that affect the process of diffusion are-
- Temperature.
- Surface Area of Interaction.
- Size of the Particle.
- The steepness of the concentration gradient.
Examples of Diffusion
- Diffusion of tea bag that is immersed in a cup of hot water.
- Diffusion of the smell of spray, fresheners, or incense sticks into the room.
- Dissolution of sugar into the water.
- Adding boiling water to the dried noodles the water diffuses causing rehydration and making dried noodles plumper and saturated.
