Leah Ladner
Anatomy and Physiology Response Questions
21 September 2017
Erica Kent
Response Question 1
Does temperature affect the rate of diffusion/osmosis?
The rate of diffusion can differ greatly due to the temperature of which something is diffusing from. Diffusion is the process of something being spread or dispersed. The life of cells depends on the dispersion or movement of chemicals throughout the cell. During the process of diffusion, substances move from a level of high concentration to levels of lower concentrations. Nutrients will enter the cells which will push out the materials that are not needed for the cell to live. The particles will transport from outside of the cell to the inside of the cell by transporting through the membrane. Diffusion is important to the cells because it is what keeps the cells alive. Molecules are transported through the cell through the process of diffusion.
Being that temperature plays a role on the rate of diffusion of a substance, I hypothesize that in a hot room, with the temperature set at 104 degrees Fahrenheit, air freshener will fill the room at a faster pace than it would in the rooms with temperatures set at 75 and 55 degrees Fahrenheit. When the temperature rises, the molecular speed increases as well. An increase in the speed of the molecules throughout the cell will also increase the speed of the diffusion of the molecules or substances inside of the cell. I will use three different spaces in a house to test my hypothesis. One room will be set at 104 degrees Fahrenheit. When the temperature decreases, the speed of the molecules also decrease. This slows down the diffusion process. The second room will be set at 75 degrees Fahrenheit. In the hottest room, I will spray air freshener and see how long it takes for the room to be completely filled with the fresh smell. I will do the same for all three of the rooms and record my results. In order for my results to be more accurate, I will demonstrate this experiment using three different brands of air freshener.
I predict that the Febreze air freshener will spread through the room set at 104 degrees Fahrenheit faster than it would in the other rooms set at lower temperatures. Although the air freshener will disperse faster in the room set at 75 degrees Fahrenheit than it would in the room set at 55 degrees Fahrenheit, it still would not be as fast as the hottest room. I feel as though all of the different brands of air freshener will have the same outcome. If the experiment goes as I predict, my hypothesis will be correct. My hypothesis states that the higher the temperature, the faster the molecules within the cell will move. It also states that the lower the temperature, the longer it will take for the molecules to diffuse into the cell. If the temperature is raised then the speed of diffusion will increase. Temperature does definitely affect the rate at which diffusion occurs. Diffusion speeds up as temperature rises. When diffusion is sl...
