Question

Why is osmosis important to animal cells?

Answer 1

Osmosis is a type of diffusion process where molecules move from an area of high concentration to an area of low concentration. Osmosis takes place in all living cells. Solvent such as water flows in or out of cells depending upon the concentration of solute such as salt. When the solvent molecules move into the cell, it’s called endosmosis and when they move outside the cell, it’s called exosmosis.

Complete answer:
In hypotonic solutions, an animal cell swells up and explodes since it doesn’t have a cell wall. When the cell is on the verge of bursting, the contractile vacuoles of the cell pump water out to prevent it from bursting. In hypertonic solutions, water diffuses out of the cell and the cell shrinks. Hence, it’s necessary for animal cells to always be in an isotonic solution.
Osmoregulation takes place in bacteria, animals, plants and humans. In human kidneys the concentration of water and salt are always maintained through osmoregulation to prevent various health problems. This process is controlled by the hypothalamus in the brain. Another function of osmosis is that it helps in absorption of water from the intestines to the blood.
Animals that live on dry land or saline environments must conserve water in their body. Similarly, animals that live in freshwater (e.g., fish) must get rid of excess water in their bodies. This is done by osmosis.
Osmosis also regulates the flow of dissolved solids and gases across the cells.

Note:
Osmosis happens in three types of solutions namely isotonic, hypertonic and hypotonic. In an isotonic solution the concentration of solutes inside and outside the cell are the same. In hypertonic solution the solute concentration is higher outside the cell. In a hypotonic solution the solute concentration is higher inside the cell.