Question

Osmosis is the process responsible for carrying nutrients and water from groundwater supplies to the upper parts of trees. The osmotic pressures required for this process can be as high as 20.1 atm

. What would the molar concentration of the tree sap have to be to achieve this pressure on a day when the temperature is 28 ∘C
?

Answer 1

Osmosis is the process by which water moves across a semipermeable membrane from an area of lower solute concentration to an area of higher solute concentration. In this case, osmosis is responsible for pulling water and nutrients up from groundwater supplies to the upper parts of trees. To achieve an osmotic pressure of 20.1 atm, the molar concentration of the tree sap would need to be approximately 0.792 mol/L.

Step-by-step explanation:

Osmosis is the process by which water moves across a semipermeable membrane from an area of lower solute concentration to an area of higher solute concentration. In the case of trees, osmosis is responsible for pulling water and nutrients from the roots to the upper parts of the tree. In order to achieve an osmotic pressure of 20.1 atm, the molar concentration of the tree sap would need to be high enough to create a concentration gradient that can generate this pressure.

Since we are dealing with the osmotic pressure using molarity, we can use the equation:

π = iMRT

Where:

π = osmotic pressure (atm)

i = the van't Hoff factor (dimensionless, usually 1 for plant compounds)

M = molarity (mol/L)

R = ideal gas constant (0.0821 L·atm/mol·K)

T = temperature (K)

Solving for M, we can rearrange the equation to:

M = π / (iRT)

Plugging in the given values:

M = 20.1 atm / (1 * 0.0821 L·atm/mol·K * (28 + 273) K)

M ≈ 0.792 mol/L