Question

A membrane permeable to water separates a chamber into two compartments: A and B. Compartment A contains a 10 mM solution of non-permeating solute, whereas compartment B contains a 40 mM solution of non-permeating solute. Which of the following statements is TRUE?

A) Both water and solute will move from side B to A.

B) Solute will move from side B to A, and water will move from side A to B.

C) Solute will move from side A to B, and water will move from side B to A.

D) Water will move from side A to B, but solute will not move.

E) Water will move from side B to A, but solute will not move.

Answer 1

Water will move from compartment A to compartment B due to osmosis in an attempt to balance the solute concentrations across a semipermeable membrane, while the non-permeating solute remains stationary.

Step-by-step explanation:

The process described in the question involves osmosis, which is the movement of water across a semipermeable membrane. According to the principles of osmosis, water moves from a region of higher water concentration to a region of lower water concentration, effectively moving towards the side with higher solute concentration that cannot permeate the membrane. Therefore, in this scenario, water will move from compartment A, which has a lower solute concentration (10 mM), to compartment B, which has a higher solite concentration (40 mM). The solute will not move because it cannot cross the semipermeable membrane.

Given the prepared concepts, the correct statement would be D) Water will move from side A to B, but solute will not move. This is because osmosis aims to equalize the concentration of solute on both sides by the movement of the solvent, which in this case is water. Although side B has a higher concentration of solute, it cannot move to side A, hence only water will move to side B to try to balance the solute concentrations.