AP BIOLOGY

CELL RESPIRATION

ATP ADENOSINE TRIPHOSPHATE

Question [CLICK ON ANY CHOICE TO KNOW THE RIGHT ANSWER]
Osmosis is the movement of water molecules across a gradient. If a plant cell is placed in a hypertonic solution what happens to the plant cell?
A
plant cell will stay the same
B
plant cell will begin to shrink
C
plant cell will begin to swell
Explanation: 

Detailed explanation-1: -In a hypertonic solution, the net movement of water will be out of the body and into the solution. A cell placed into a hypertonic solution will shrivel and die by a process known as plasmolysis.

Detailed explanation-2: -If a plant cell is placed in a hypertonic solution, the plant cell loses water and hence turgor pressure by plasmolysis: pressure decreases to the point where the protoplasm of the cell peels away from the cell wall, leaving gaps between the cell wall and the membrane and making the plant cell shrink and crumple.

Detailed explanation-3: -When a cell is kept in a hypotonic medium, the cells take up water from external medium and swell up. In plant cells, the cell membrane creates a pressure against the cell wall, which exerts an equal pressure against the swollen cell but do not burst.

Detailed explanation-4: -The hypertonic solution has a lower water concentration than the hypotonic solution, so a concentration gradient of water now exists across the membrane. Water molecules will move from the side of higher water concentration to the side of lower concentration until both solutions are isotonic.

Detailed explanation-5: -When a plant cell is in a hypotonic environment, the osmotic entry of water raises the turgor pressure exerted against the cell wall until the pressure prevents more water from coming into the cell. At this point the plant cell is turgid (Figure below).

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