Question

A student put together the experimental setup shown below. The selectively permeable membrane is permeable to water, but not the solute shown.

Over time, what will happen in this system?
No change will take place.
Water will move from left to right.
Water will move from right to left.
Solute will move from right to left.

Answer 1

Water will move across the semipermeable membrane from the side with higher water concentration to the side with lower water concentration due to osmosis, until equilibrium is achieved.

Step-by-step explanation:

In the experimental setup described, with a semipermeable membrane that is permeable to water but not to solute, osmosis will occur. Osmosis is the movement of water across a semipermeable membrane from an area of higher water concentration (lower solute concentration) to an area of lower water concentration (higher solute concentration). Therefore, water will move across the membrane to equalize the water concentrations on both sides. If the setup initially has a dilute solution on one side and a concentrated solution on the other, water will move from the dilute side to the concentrated side. This process will continue until the water concentration is equal on both sides or until the hydrostatic pressure of the water balances the osmotic pressure.

Answer 2

The correct answer to this question is Water will move from left to right.

Water tends to move over to the side where there is less water. For example, if there's less water on the RIGHT side, then the water will tend to move from left, to RIGHT. It shows more solute molecules on the right, so water will move to this side by osmosis. I think it is to do with entropy and the tendency for systems to move to equilibrium if there is an increase in entropy