Multiple Choice
What would you expect to happen to the cell under the following conditions?
6. The Membrane
Osmosis
Multiple Choice
Seawater is hypertonic to cytoplasm in vertebrate cells and in plant cells. If a red blood cell and a plant cell were placed in seawater, what would happen to the two types of cells?
A
The red blood cell would burst, and the plant cell would shrink.
B
Both cells will gain water, but cell walls will prevent both cells from bursting.
C
Both cells would gain water by osmosis; the red blood cell would burst, and the plant cell would increase in turgor pressure.
D
The red blood cell would shrink, and the plant cell would gain water.
E
Both cells would lose water; the red blood cell would shrivel, and the plant plasma membrane would pull away from the cell wall.
Verified step by step guidance1
Understand the concept of tonicity: Tonicity refers to the relative concentration of solutes in two solutions separated by a semipermeable membrane. A hypertonic solution has a higher concentration of solutes compared to another solution.
Identify the environment: Seawater is hypertonic to the cytoplasm of both red blood cells and plant cells, meaning seawater has a higher concentration of solutes than the cytoplasm inside these cells.
Predict the movement of water: In a hypertonic environment, water will move out of the cells to the area of higher solute concentration (seawater) through osmosis, which is the movement of water across a semipermeable membrane.
Consider the effects on red blood cells: As water leaves the red blood cells, they will lose volume and shrivel because they lack a cell wall to maintain their shape.
Consider the effects on plant cells: As water leaves the plant cells, the plasma membrane will pull away from the rigid cell wall, a process known as plasmolysis, causing the plant cell to shrink.
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