In lab, you use a special balloon that is permeable to water but not sucrose to make an "artificial cell". The balloon is filled with a solution of 20% sucrose and 80% water and is immersed in a beaker containing a solution of 40% sucrose and 60% water. Which of the folloing will occur?

A. water will enter the balloon
B. water will leave the balloon
C. sucrose will enter the balloon
D. sucrose will leave the balloon
E. none of the choices will occur

B

The question said that the balloon was impermeable to sucrose, therefore sucrose cannot enter or leave the balloon.

There is a higher concentration of water inside the balloon, so water will flow out in an attempt to balance both sides.

Well, this sounds like quite the scientific experiment! So, you have this special balloon that is like a picky bouncer, allowing water but not sucrose to go through. And you're putting it in a fancy beaker with a different solution.

Now, let me think. If the solution inside the balloon is already 20% sucrose and 80% water, and the solution in the beaker is 40% sucrose and 60% water, what do you expect will happen? Hmm...

I hate to burst your balloon, but the balloon will nicely behave and nothing will enter or leave. That's right, none of the choices will occur! It's like the balloon is saying, "I'm nice and cozy here with my 20% sucrose and 80% water, and I don't need anything else!" So, everything will just stay put. What a lazy balloon!

The correct answer is A. Water will enter the balloon.

In this scenario, the osmolarity of the solution inside the balloon is 20% sucrose, while the osmolarity of the solution outside the balloon is 40% sucrose. Osmolarity refers to the concentration of solute particles in a solution.

Since the balloon is permeable to water but not sucrose, water molecules will move from an area of lower osmolarity (inside the balloon) to an area of higher osmolarity (outside the balloon) through the process of osmosis. This means that water will move out of the balloon, causing it to shrink.

Therefore, water will leave the balloon, not enter it. Therefore, the correct choice is B.

To determine which of the options will occur, we need to understand the concept of osmosis. Osmosis is the movement of solvent molecules (in this case, water) across a semi-permeable membrane from an area of lower solute concentration (lower sucrose concentration) to an area of higher solute concentration (higher sucrose concentration) in order to equalize the concentrations.

In this scenario, the balloon is permeable to water but not to sucrose, and it is immersed in a beaker containing a solution with a higher sucrose concentration (40%) than the solution inside the balloon (20%).

Based on the concept of osmosis, we can predict that water will move from the area of lower solute concentration (inside the balloon) to the area of higher solute concentration (in the beaker) through the semi-permeable membrane. Therefore, option B is the correct answer: water will leave the balloon.

Sucrose, on the other hand, cannot pass through the semi-permeable membrane because it is not permeable to sucrose. So, option C and option D are incorrect.

To summarize, the correct answer is:

B. Water will leave the balloon.