What happened if you put the Elodea leaf cells in a solution of 0.5% NaCl,1.8% NaCl and 0.9%NaCl?
To understand what would happen if you put Elodea leaf cells in different concentrations of NaCl solutions, you would need to consider the process of osmosis. Osmosis is the movement of water across a semipermeable membrane from an area of lower solute concentration to an area of higher solute concentration.
Elodea is a fresh water plant, meaning it has adapted to live in an environment with low salt concentrations. On the other hand, solutions with different NaCl concentrations would create environments with varying solute concentrations.
Let's evaluate the potential outcomes of placing Elodea leaf cells in different NaCl concentrations:
1. 0.5% NaCl: This is a relatively low concentration of salt. Elodea leaf cells, adapted to a fresh water environment with low salt concentrations, will experience a hypotonic solution. As a result, water will move into the cells via osmosis, causing them to swell and possibly burst.
2. 1.8% NaCl: This concentration represents a higher salt content than the previous solution. Elodea cells will still be subjected to a hypotonic environment, but with an increased solute concentration. Similar to the first scenario, water will continue to move into the cells, causing further swelling and potentially leading to cell damage or bursting.
3. 0.9% NaCl: This concentration is closer to the isotonic level, which means the solute concentration inside and outside of the Elodea cells is relatively balanced. In an isotonic solution, the movement of water across the cell membrane is equal in both directions, resulting in no significant changes in cell size or shape.
Overall, putting Elodea leaf cells in solutions of 0.5% NaCl and 1.8% NaCl will likely cause the cells to swell and possibly burst due to osmosis. On the other hand, placing them in a 0.9% NaCl solution will result in no significant changes to the size or shape of the cells.