BRAINCAKEWater in Hydraulic Mechanisms
Liquid water is almost incompressible: squeezing it hardly reduces its volume. Organisms use this property to support themselves and to move, in the same way that a hydraulic ram uses oil.
Turgor in plants. When a plant cell takes in water by osmosis, the vacuole swells and pushes the cytoplasm against the cell wall. The pressure of the cell contents on the wall is turgor pressure, and the cell is turgid. Turgid cells pressing against each other support non-woody plants such as seedlings and leaves. If the plant loses more water than it takes in, cells become flaccid and the plant wilts.
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Key terms in this lesson
- osmosis
- The net movement of water molecules from a region of higher water potential to a region of lower water potential through a partially permeable membrane.
- antagonistic
- Describes a pair of muscles or structures that produce opposite effects, one relaxing as the other contracts.
More in Chemistry for Life
- Covalent Bonding
- Important Anions
- Important Cations
- Water
- Water as a Polar Solvent
- Water as a Transport Medium
- Water as a Habitat
- Water in Plant Transport Systems
All 10 lessons in Chemistry for Life · All Edexcel AS-level Biology topics