Is osmosis considered chemistry?

Question

like when you put salt on snails it dehydrates them through osmosis

Answer 1

science.

chemistry is part of science.

i think so

Answer 2

Both chemistry (because it deals with chemicals) and biology (because that's where it's mostly applicable)

Osmosis is water passing through a semi-permeable membrane from a low concentration to a high concentration.

The slugs' skin is a semi-permeable membrane, the slugs' body is a bit salty, but you make the outside of the body very salty, so the water passes through the membrane. The slug dies of dehydration.

Osmosis happens all the time in our bodies- most of our cells are semi-permeable!

Answer 3

Strictly speaking, osmosis is a physical process. But like many physical processes, it's quite important in chemistry.

There is no firm border between physics and chemistry, anyhow.

Answer 4

Osmosis is NOT diffusion.

Diffusion would be where you put a solute (eg. honey) in a solvent (eg. water). After a while the honey disperses through the water to make it all equally sweet.

Osmosis means the solvent has to travel through a membrane to try to equalize the concentrations. So salt on snail skin would mean water travels through the skin to try to dilute the salt. That is why the snail dehydrates.

Answer 5

Dude osmosis pisses me off.  It's just diffusion.  Of water.  I don't know why it gets it's own special name and all other substances don't.  It's more useful in Biology though, not so much in chemistry.

Answer 6

Physical process. No chemistry.