Selectively permeable — Science definition
Letting some substances cross while holding others back, which is what turns simple diffusion into something a cell can live on.
Where it is taught
- Membrane Transport, Diffusion & Osmosis — Cells, Transport & Cellular Energy, Life Science & Scientific Inquiry, Grade 7
In use
Cells are wrapped in a selectively permeable membrane, which lets some substances through and blocks others, and that turns a simple spreading process into something a cell can live on.
Membrane Transport, Diffusion & Osmosis