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Six facts about osmosis

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  • Osmosis is the movement of water through a cell membrane.

  • The pressure that moves water in and out of cells is called water potential.

  • Water moves from a region with a high water potential to a region with a lower water potential.

  • Pure water has a high water potential and so water is very likely to move into cells if they have water around them.

  • Solutes lower water potential and so cells have a lower water potential than pure water.

  • Plant cells take in water by osmosis until the cell wall pushes back on the cell's contents with the same pressure.