Given the following setup describe what will happen over tim

Given the following setup, describe what will happen over time. Assume the semipermeable membrane allows water to pass but not solute.

Solution

The movement of water across a membrane that is permeable to water but not permeable to solute leads to an equilibrium state in which there is a change in the initial equal volumes of the two compartments as a result of net diffusion of water from compartment 1 (0.4 M) to compartment 2 (0.5 M), but there will no solute diffusion in the opposite direction. Water will continue to diffuse into compartment 2, therefore until the water concentrations on the two side become equal. The solute concentration in compartment 2 will decrease as it is diluted by the incoming water, and the solute in compartment 1 will become more concentrated as water moves out. When the water has reached diffusion equilibrium, the osmolarities of the compartments will be equal, and thus the solute concentrations must also be equal. It is most important to realise that it is the presence of a membrane impermeable to solute that lead to the volume changes associated with osmosis.