IF a core is cut from a carrot and the hole is filled with corn syrup and sealed by a glass tube and then suspended in pure water, what would happen to the cells adjoing the hole, to the epidermal cells? Also, what will happen to the level of the liquid in the glass tube
foof
To understand what would happen to the cells and the liquid level in the glass tube, we need to consider the concept of osmosis and how water moves across membranes.
1. Cells adjoing the hole:
When a core is cut from a carrot and the hole is filled with corn syrup, the corn syrup is a highly concentrated solution. The surrounding cells, referred to as the epidermal cells, contain water and other solutes. The concentration of solute inside the cells is lower compared to the corn syrup.
As a result, osmosis will occur. Osmosis is the movement of water molecules across a semi-permeable membrane from an area of lower solute concentration to an area of higher solute concentration. In this case, water will move out of the cells and into the corn syrup due to the higher concentration of solutes. This will cause the adjoing cells to lose water and shrink or become flaccid.
2. Epidermal cells:
The epidermal cells, being in direct contact with the corn syrup, will also experience the same process of osmosis. Water from these cells will move outwards toward the area of higher solute concentration (the corn syrup), causing the epidermal cells to lose water and potentially shrink or become flaccid.
3. Liquid level in the glass tube:
The sealed glass tube is immersed in pure water. Since the solution inside the carrot (corn syrup) has a higher concentration of solutes compared to the pure water, osmosis will occur between the two solutions as well.
Water from the pure water surrounding the glass tube will move across the carrot cells' membranes into the corn syrup, attempting to equalize the concentration of solutes on both sides of the carrot. As a result, there will be a net flow of water from the pure water into the corn syrup-filled core in the carrot through the glass tube.
This means that the level of liquid in the glass tube will rise due to the flow of water from the surrounding pure water into the corn syrup-filled core. The amount of liquid that rises will depend on the osmotic pressure and concentration difference between the two solutions.
It is important to note that this explanation is based on the principles of osmosis and assumes that the glass tube is impermeable to both water and the solutes present in the corn syrup and the carrot cells.