Concentration gradients
The idea of concentrations and the gradients within them is important when understanding the movement of particles or molecules across cell membranes.
Concentration
When A disaccharide made from glucose and fructose. It is used as table sugar. is dissolved in water, the The dissolved substance in a solution. is sucrose and water is the The liquid in which the solute dissolves to form a solution.. Together they form a solution.
The more sucrose particles there are in a certain volume of the solution, the more concentrated the solution is.
Image caption, Solution one
Low solute concentration
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A solution with a low solute concentration has a high water concentration. Pure water has the highest water concentration.
A concentration gradient exists when there is a region of high concentration leading to a region of low concentration:
- going from high to low concentration is going down the concentration gradient
- going from low to high concentration is going against the concentration gradient