• Question: why does yeast not grow very well if you add too much sugar???. This is also true with plants and water.

    Asked by nickrichens to Kerstin on 26 Mar 2010 in Categories: .
    • Photo: Kerstin Zechner

      Kerstin Zechner answered on 26 Mar 2010:


      In yeast and plants, water can be taken up through a process known as osmosis. All cells are surrounded by a membrane. The water will move to the side of the membrane that has the highest concentration of non-water molecules. So usually water will travel into the cell, because there is a higher concentration of non-water molecules inside the cell. However, if there is a really high concentration of sugar outside of the cell, the water will travel outside of the cell, thus depleting it of the water it needs to survive. This is why the yeast will not grow if too much sugar is added to its surroundings.

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