What additional procedure would best help determine whether these movements are due to active transport or passive transport?

Figure 1 presents a dialysis bag immersed in a beaker of water.
Figure 1

A student is using dialysis bags to model the effects of changing solute concentrations on cells. The student places one dialysis bag that contains 25 mL of distilled water into each of two beakers that are filled with 200 mL of distilled water. (Figure 1). The membrane of each dialysis bag membrane contains pores that allow small solutes such as monoatomic ions to pass through but are too small for anything larger to pass. After 30 minutes, 5 mL of a concentrated solution of albumin (a medium-sized, water-soluble protein) is added to one of the two beakers. Nothing is added to the other beaker. After two more hours at room temperature, the mass of each bag is determined. There is no change in the mass of the dialysis bag in the beaker to which no albumin was added.

Which of the graphs below best represents the predicted change in mass over time of the dialysis bag in the beaker to which albumin was added?

A
The figure presents a graph in the coordinate plane. The horizontal axis is labeled Time, in minutes, and the numbers 0 through 150, in increments of 30, are indicated. The vertical axis is labeled Relative Mass of Dialysis Bag. The axis has an arrowhead at the top end, and no numbers are indicated along it. The graphed line begins at 0 minutes, about halfway up the vertical axis, and extends horizontally to the right until it ends at 150 minutes. A label indicates Albumin Added at 30 minutes.

B
The figure presents a graph in the coordinate plane. The horizontal axis is labeled Time, in minutes, and the numbers 0 through 150, in increments of 30, are indicated. The vertical axis is labeled Relative Mass of Dialysis Bag. The axis has an arrowhead at the top end, and no numbers are indicated along it. The graphed line begins at 0 minutes, about halfway up the vertical axis, and extends horizontally to the right until 30 minutes. A label indicates Albumin Added at 30 minutes. The graphed line starts to move downward and to the right at 30 minutes until it ends at 150 minutes, just above the horizontal axis.

C
The figure presents a graph in the coordinate plane. The horizontal axis is labeled Time, in minutes, and the numbers 0 through 150, in increments of 30, are indicated. The vertical axis is labeled Relative Mass of Dialysis Bag. The axis has an arrowhead at the top end, and no numbers are indicated along it. The graphed line begins at 0 minutes, about one third of the way up the vertical axis, and moves upward and to the right until it is about halfway up the vertical axis at 30 minutes. A label indicates Albumin Added at 30 minutes. The graphed line then moves downward and to the right until it ends at 150 minutes, about one third of the way up the vertical axis.

D
The figure presents a graph in the coordinate plane. The horizontal axis is labeled Time, in minutes, and the numbers 0 through 150, in increments of 30, are indicated. The vertical axis is labeled Relative Mass of Dialysis Bag. The axis has an arrowhead at the top end, and no numbers are indicated along it. The graphed line begins at 0 minutes, about halfway up the vertical axis, and extends horizontally to the right until 30 minutes. A label indicates Albumin Added at 30 minutes. The graphed line then moves upward and to the right until it ends at 150 minutes, near the top of the vertical axis.

What determines whether a transport process is active or passive?

There are two major ways that molecules can be moved across a membrane, and the distinction has to do with whether or not cell energy is used. Passive mechanisms like diffusion use no energy, while active transport requires energy to get done.

What is difference between active transport and passive transport?

Active transport requires energy for the movement of molecules whereas passive transport does not require energy for the movement of molecules. In active transport, the molecules move against the concentration gradient whereas in passive transport, the molecules move along the concentration gradient.

What are the three main differences between active and passive transport?

(1) active transport occurs more rapidly than passive transport. (2) passive transport is non-selective whereas active transport is selective. (3) passive transport requires a concentration gradient across a biological membrane whereas active transport requires energy to move solutes.

What is used during active transport but not passive?

During active transport, substances move against the concentration gradient, from an area of low concentration to an area of high concentration. This process is “active” because it requires the use of energy (usually in the form of ATP). It is the opposite of passive transport.