False. Oxygen does not pass through the cell membrane by osmosis. Instead, it moves across the cell membrane by a process called diffusion.
Osmosis specifically refers to the movement of water molecules across a selectively permeable membrane from an area of low solute concentration to an area of high solute concentration. In contrast, diffusion is the movement of molecules from an area of higher concentration to an area of lower concentration. Oxygen, being a small and non-polar molecule, can easily diffuse through the lipid bilayer of the cell membrane without the need for any energy or transport proteins.
This process is crucial for cellular respiration, where oxygen is used by cells to produce energy. Therefore, while osmosis is important for water balance in cells, it is diffusion that allows oxygen to enter and carbon dioxide to exit the cell.