A researcher hypothesizes that a solute enters a cell by facilitated diffusion. He places different concentrations of the solute in the extracellular medium to obtain the following data. Do his data support his hypothesis? A graph has a vertical axis labeled Rate of Entry Into Cell and a horizontal axis labeled Concentration of Solute. The graph shows a curve that rises very quickly at low concentrations of solute but levels out at high concentrations of solute. Possible Answers are: yes because the rate of solute entry into the cell is the same for high concentrations of solute, or yes because the rate of the solute entry into the cell changes for low concentrations of solute.
Based on the given data, the researcher's hypothesis is supported. The graph shows a curve that rises quickly at low concentrations of the solute, indicating that the rate of entry into the cell is higher at lower concentrations. However, the graph levels out at high concentrations of solute, suggesting that the rate of entry into the cell does not increase further with increasing concentration. Thus, the researcher's hypothesis that the solute enters the cell by facilitated diffusion is supported by the data. Therefore, the answer is: yes because the rate of solute entry into the cell changes for low concentrations of solute.
