Fig. 4D: Osmosis
Free Water Passing Through Membrane Pores, NaCl Solute

When an ionic solute such as NaCl dissolves in water, the Na+ ion attracts the partial negative charge of the oxygen atom in the water molecule while the Cl- ion attracts the partial positive charge of the warter's hydrogen. While free, unbound water molecules are small enough to pass through membrane pores, water molecules bound to solute are not.

Illustration of Osmosis: Free Water Passing Through Membrane Pores, NaCl solute.jpg by Gary E. Kaiser, Ph.D.
Professor of Microbiology, The Community College of Baltimore County, Catonsville Campus
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Based on a work at https://cwoer.ccbcmd.edu/science/microbiology/index_gos.html..

Creative Commons License

Last updated: August, 2019
Please send comments and inquiries to Dr. Gary Kaiser