Active Transport

What is active transport?

The movement of particles across a membrane against a concentration gradient (i.e. from an area of lower to an rea of higher concentration) using energy transferred during respiration

How is active transport from diffusion?

The particles move up a concentration gradient rather than down, and the process requires energy (unlike diffusion which is a passive process)

What happens when there’s a higher concentration of nutrients in the gut than in the blood?

The nutrients diffuse naturally

What happens when there’s a lower concentration of nutrients in the gut than in the blood?

Active transport; allows nutrients to be taken into the blood, despite the fact that the concentration gradient is the wrong way (essential to stop us from starving)