Is osmosis a form of diffusion?

[Vijayalekshmi]

I am confused because I read that a selectively permeable membrane means that it becomes osmosis and that there can't be a selectively permeable membrane for diffusion.

Or is osmosis just diffusion across a selectively permeable membrane?

 

[chemisttree]

The way I see it, diffusion is the mechanism by which osmosis can occur in solutions. Diffusion describes the pathway and osmosis describes the destination.

 

[Topher925]

The way I understand it is that diffusion is on the macro level, and osmosis is on the microscopic level. Furthermore, diffusion occurs due to a concentration gradient while osmosis can occur due to a concentration of or entropic gradient.

 

[omegahunter9]

Yes, osmosis is a form of diffusion. It involves moving from high concentration to low concentration. The only 'difference' being that osmosis specifically refers to a process in which a solvent goes from a less concentrated solution into a more concentrated one, through a semipermeable membrane, eventually making the concentrations on each side of the membrane equal... Or you could view it as diffusion of the solvent through a membrane.

 

[LudusRex]

Yes, osmosis is a form of diffusion. It is the movement of water molecules from an area of high concentration to an area of low concentration across a selectively permeable membrane. This membrane allows only certain molecules, in this case water, to pass through while blocking others. This selective permeability is what differentiates osmosis from other forms of diffusion. Diffusion, on the other hand, refers to the movement of any type of molecule from an area of high concentration to an area of low concentration, regardless of whether there is a selectively permeable membrane present. In summary, osmosis is a specific type of diffusion that occurs across a selectively permeable membrane.