How does selective permeability enable a membrane to establish and maintain a concentration gradient?
Concentration gradient is a different in concentration between two areas If the membrane allowed anything and everything to pass through, and since particles diffuse to have an equilibrium, the concentration inside the cell would eventually be the same as the concentration outside the cell Since there is no difference, there is no gradient If the membrane is selectively permeable, it can actively transport things, or only allow certain things to diffuse to a certain extent It monitors what enters and exits the cell, ensuring the cell is not the same as the environment Since there is a difference, there is a gradient
