Difference between diffusion and concentration gradient?
What's the difference between diffusion and concentration gradient?
My teacher gave us definitions for both, but I don't really understand where's the difference...
diffusion: process by which molecules of a substance move from areas of higher concentration to areas of lower concentration.
concentration gradient: a gradual change in the concentration of solutes in a solution as a function of distance through a solution.
To me it seems like concentration gradient is just worded differently but means the exact same thing as diffusion... can anybody clear this up for me? btw, English isn't my first language, so I might not be understanding something >_>
October 11, 2012
4 Comments • Newest first
[quote=eyedrop]@CrayonScribble: Hmm okay, that clears things up.. I'll google what gradient means I guess. loved how you used Maplestory to help explaining [/quote]
No problem. I remember when I was learning that crap for the first time too.
Funny, we were talking about this in class a few days ago.
@CrayonScribble: Hmm okay, that clears things up.. I'll google what gradient means I guess. loved how you used Maplestory to help explaining
Lets start with concentration gradient first. Concentration gradient is simply a difference in concentration between one arbitrary area compared to another.
In the analogy of Maplestory, differences between server populations of Scania and Bellocan. That is all, your teacher is wrong. Concentration gradient does not mean there is a gradual change in concentration, there could be. We don't know for sure. There could be a barrier preventing the change of concentration 25K NX server transfer. Or in biology this could be an in impermeable membrane.
Diffusion, is a process of substances moving from one area to another without the input of energy. This could be because of the concentration gradient, this could be because of the electrochemical gradient.