You can predict which way water molecules will move if you know the concentrations of the solutions on either side of a partially permeable membrane.
Water is important to plants because it helps to support them.
- The contents of the turgid cells push against the inelastic cell walls.
- This turgor pressure helps to support the cell.
- When there is little or no turgor pressure, the plant wilts.
When plant cells are full of water the cells are turgid. When the plant wilts and the cells are short of water they are flaccid.
If a plant loses too much water, the cell membrane may pull away from the cell wall. We call this plasmolysis. A plasmolysed cell cannot return to being turgid and usually dies
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