Faster Than the Speed of Sodium Chloride: Does Temperature Affect the Rate of Diffusion?

Abstract

Like the diffusion rate of molecules out of a tea bag in a hot cup of water, the diffusion rate of molecules out of cell membranes in our bodies is affected by temperature. We wanted to know if increasing the temperature of a solvent would increase the rate of diffusion due to increased particle activity. The rate of diffusion is affected in many different ways (such as molecule size and presence of other molecules) but no other groups in our class have related it directly to kinetics. We hypothesized that increasing the temperature of a solvent would also increase the rate of diffusion because the particles would come into contact with the surface of the membrane more frequently. We investigated this by collected sodium chloride in dialysis tubing, placing it in deionized water of 2 different temperatures, and measuring how much NaCl has diffused into the water with a conductivity probe. Diffusion rate is important to understand because it is a major process in the human body