Following are the tree processes which help the plants to absorb water and minerals from the soil.
1. Diffusion: Soil water moves into the root hairs through the process of diffusion from higher concentration to lower concentration as we put sugar in the milk and the sugar molecules are evenly distributed in the milk and occupy inter molecular spaces of milk.
2. Osmosis: The cell sap and the cell walls act as semi- permeable membranes and permeable membranes. The concentration of the cell sap is more as compared to the water + minerals present in the soil. So the water and dissolved minerals enters the roots by the process of osmosis.
3. Active transport: Root hairs absorb water and minerals from the soil. Water diffuses into the root hairs as the concentration of water is more as compared to root hair. But in case of minerals these move from lower concentration to molecules of higher concentration. So the minerals from the soil along with water move into the roots. So this is active transport in the opposite direction which needs energy.
