Which factors increase the rate of diffusion and how do they increase it?
Although diffusion (from now on any reference to diffusion will refer to net diffusion) is a very common in biological systems, it is also a very slow process (on a macroscopic scale). There several physical factors that affect the rate at which particles diffuse. Organisms have been able to utilize some of these factors to regulate the transport of items. Some of these factors are: 1. Size of the particle (molecular weight): Remember that the source of energy for the movement of particles in diffusion is the heat in the environment. At a given temperature, a smaller particle (molecule) moves faster than a larger one. This is analogous to a person pushing an object. A person can push a wheelbarrow much faster than he/she can push a minivan. This is due to the size of the object being pushed. With the same amount of force, a smaller object can be pushed faster than a larger object. Thus the rate of diffusion is inversely proportional to the size of the particle. That is, a smaller parti
