I`m so confused about osmosis right now. If you place a cell in a hypertonic solute then wouldn`t the water go into the cell since they`re trying to acheive equilibrium?
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No, if you put it in hypertonic, then the water from the cell will leave, trying to dilute the hypertonic solution.
Thank you so much. I finally understand this. :)
You bring up a great question about osmosis and cell equilibrium. To understand whether water will move into or out of a cell when placed in a hypertonic solute, we need to consider the concept of tonicity.
Tonicity refers to the relative concentrations of solutes in two solutions separated by a semi-permeable membrane, like a cell membrane. There are three main types of tonicity: hypertonic, hypotonic, and isotonic.
A hypertonic solution has a higher solute concentration compared to the cell's cytoplasm. When a cell is placed in a hypertonic solution, water tends to move out of the cell to achieve equilibrium. The reason behind this is that water molecules move from an area of lower solute concentration (the cell) to an area of higher solute concentration (the hypertonic solution) through a process called osmosis. This movement of water continues until the solute concentration is balanced on both sides of the membrane.
In the case of a hypertonic solution, because there is a higher concentration of solutes outside the cell than inside, water moves out of the cell, causing it to shrink or undergo plasmolysis. This occurs because the solute concentration outside the cell is drawing water out to create equal concentrations on both sides.
So, in summary, when a cell is placed in a hypertonic solute, water would typically move out of the cell in an attempt to achieve equilibrium with the higher solute concentration outside the cell.