Osmosis across membranes

Osmosis is the net movement of water across a selectively permeable membrane. When pressure and other conditions are comparable, water tends to move toward the side with a higher concentration of dissolved solute that cannot cross the membrane. If an animal cell is placed in a solution with a much higher concentration of nonpenetrating solute than its interior, water leaves the cell and it shrinks. Whether a solute can cross the membrane matters when predicting the result.