Osmosis

Osmosis: passive movement of water molecules from a region of lower solute concentration to a region of higher solute concentration, across a partially permeable membrane

Solute: the substance that dissolves in a solvent to produce a mixture

Solvent: the substance that is capable of dissolving one or several substances, creating a solution

--> water is considered a universal solvent

Solution: the resulting mixture of a solute and solvent

Molecules are always moving, in a solution both the water and solute molecules move around randomly

Therefore osmosis takes place naturally and without input of energy

Aquaporins are specialised integral proteins that functions as a channel for water to enter/exit the cell

--> water would otherwise has a hard time a passing through the hydrophobic center of phospholipid bilayers