Question

When you pour a few drops of water on the leaf of a plant, such as banana leaf or peepal, it does not enter the leaf by osmosis. Give reasons.

Answer 1

Osmosis:

Osmosis is the process in which solvent molecules move across a semipermeable membrane from a less solute concentration to a high solute concentration.

Reasons:

1. Water molecules diffuse across a semipermeable membrane in osmosis but in the case of leaves, a semipermeable membrane is absent.
2. Instead of a semi-permeable membrane, leaves have an outer protective and waxy covering known as a cuticle that is impermeable to water.
3. Therefore, water cannot enter the leaves through the process of osmosis.