Real World Examples of Osmosis
Example 1
Sore throat? Gargle salt water. Why?
• swelling throat tissues, contain H2O
• salt water has lower concentration than throat
tissue so by osmosis, water moves from throat
tissues out to the salt water
• loss of H2O decreases the swelling and relieves
some pain
Example 2
Sticky wooden door? Sticky dresser drawer?
• when it rains: wood
absorbs H2O from air due to
osmosis (hypotonic)
• when it is dry: H2O is lost
from wood, returns to
normal condition
(hypertonic)
Example 3
Why does salt kill slugs?
• liquids inside slug sent to
dilute the salt and maintain
mucus layer
• salt will dehydrate slug’s
body cause the slug to die
because all the liquids
would leave its body
(hypertonic)