A membrane is permeable to a given

substance if it allows that substance to pass

through, and impermeable if it does not.
 Biological membranes are selectively
permeable membranesthey allow some
but not all substances to pass through them.
 In response to varying environmental
conditions or cell needs, a membrane may be
a barrier to a particular substance at one time
and actively promote its passage at another
time.
 Atoms and molecules in
liquids and gases move in a kind of random
walk, changing directions as they collide.

Although the movement of individual particles

is undirected and unpredictable, we can
nevertheless make predictions about
the behavior of groups of particles.
 In diffusion, the random motion of particles
results in their net movement down their
own concentration gradient, from the region of
higher concentration to the one of lower
concentration
 Osmosis is diffusion of water across
a selectively permeable membrane.

Osmosis is a special kind of diffusion

that involves the net movement of water
(the principal solvent in biological systems)

through a selectively permeable membrane

from a region of higher concentration to a
region of lower concentration.