Name ______________________________________ Date ______________ Hour __________________
Diffusion and Osmosis Worksheet
How are the molecules moving in the examples below? Write Osmosis or Diffusion on the space
provided. Remember! Diffusion is the movement of molecules such as odors, sugar, salt, etc. where as
osmosis is the movement of water.
1. The student sitting next to you just came from gym class and forgot to shower and you can tell.
____________________________
2. After sitting in the bathtub for hours, your fingers start to look like prunes. _________________
3. The girl sitting two rows ahead of you put on too much perfume this morning. ______________
4. One way to get rid of slugs in your garden is to sprinkle salt on them, so they shrivel up.
_________________
5. Yum! Something smells good. The neighbors are cooking on the grill! ______________________
6. Gargling salt water when you have a sore throat causes your swollen throat cells to shrink and
feel better. _______________________
7. Oxygen molecules move from the air sacs in the lungs across the cell membranes into the blood.
____________________
8. Robert sprays water on the veggies in the produce section to “plump them up”.
______________
9. You put raisins in a glass of water and they plump up. ___________________.
10. You put sugar on strawberries on they become juicy. ____________________.
Match each term on the left with the best descriptor on the right. Use each only once.
_____ 11. Concentration (p. 97)
a) Moves particles like oxygen into cells.
_____ 12. Diffusion (p. 97)
b) Amount of a substance in a certain
place.
_____ 13. Equal amount of water inside and outside. (p. 97)
c) Moves water into and out of cells.
_____ 14. More water outside a cell than inside. (p.97)
d) Allows some substances through.
_____ 15. Osmosis (p. 98)
e)
_____ 16. More water inside than outside the cell. (p.97)
f)
_____ 17. Selectively permeable membrane.
g)
18. You have just bought a tropical fish for your freshwater aquarium. Unfortunately, you do not realize
it is a saltwater fish. Using your knowledge of osmosis, explain why this fish will not survive in your
aquarium.
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19. Fill in this table. Write whether solutes and water move INSIDE the cell or OUTSIDE the cell. YOU
MUST SHOW ALL WORK. USE A SEPARATE SHEET OF PAPER TO SHOW YOUR WORK. STAPLE TOGETHER!
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Hint: Solute is what dissolves (sugar, salt, etc.). The solvent is the water. Solutes move through
diffusion from higher to lower concentration.
Hint: With osmosis, calculate the amount of water in a cell. Water moves from a higher
concentration to lower concentration.