Osmosis is a passive transport that helps cells function and maintain a balance of water in a changing environment. This means that osmosis helps maintain homeostasis because it helps balance water for the cell in a changing environment. There are three different cell environments which are hypertonic, hypotonic and isotonic. Hypertonic is when the water moves out of the cell and the cell shrinks because of the loss of water in the cell. Hypotonic is when water move inside of the cell causing it to expand and swell. Isotonic is when water moves into and out of the cell at a constant rate which means it stays the same size as a normal cell. This is the main reason why osmosis is important to help maintain homeostasis because it needs to be in a stable condition in changing environments and that is what osmosis