Question

Which of the following are strategies that organisms use to maintain osmotic balance?

1) Active transport
2) Diffusion
3) Osmosis
4) Facilitated diffusion

Answer 1

Organisms maintain osmotic balance through active transport, diffusion, osmosis, and facilitated diffusion, employing energy-driven pumps and passive transport mechanisms to regulate water and solute movement across cell membranes.

Step-by-step explanation:

Organisms utilize several strategies to maintain osmotic balance, which is the equilibrium of water and solute concentrations across a membrane. These strategies include:

• Active transport - This process uses energy, usually in the form of ATP, to move solutes against their concentration gradient through a membrane protein.
• Diffusion - A passive process by which molecules move from an area of higher concentration to an area of lower concentration until an equilibrium is reached.
• Osmosis - A specific type of diffusion where water moves across a semi-permeable membrane from an area with lower solute concentration to an area with a higher solute concentration.
• Facilitated diffusion - This is a passive transport mechanism where molecules move down their concentration gradient through a membrane with the help of a carrier protein.

These mechanisms work in concert to ensure that cells can control the movement of water and solutes, thereby maintaining a stable internal environment, or homeostasis.