In comparing normal blood concentrations are the solution 0.01% (m/v) NaCl isotonic, hypertonic, or hypotonic and could you explain?
A normal saline solution is about 0.90% NaCl.
http://www.phschool.com/science/biology_place/biocoach/biomembrane1/solutions.html
To determine if a 0.01% (m/v) NaCl solution is isotonic, hypertonic, or hypotonic compared to normal blood concentration, we need to understand the concepts of tonicity and the normal blood concentration.
Tonicity refers to the relative concentration of solutes in two solutions and their effect on the movement of water across a semi-permeable membrane. In this case, we are comparing the NaCl solution to normal blood concentration, which consists of various solutes, including electrolytes like sodium, chloride, and others.
Normal blood concentration is considered isotonic, meaning that it has the same concentration of solutes as the intracellular and extracellular fluids. In an isotonic solution, there is no net movement of water across the cell membrane.
Now, let's calculate the concentration of the NaCl solution to determine its tonicity compared to normal blood concentration:
0.01% NaCl (m/v) means 0.01 grams of NaCl dissolved in 100 mL of solution.
To convert grams to millimoles (mmol), we need to know the molar mass of NaCl, which is approximately 58.44 g/mol.
0.01 grams * (1 mol / 58.44 g) = 0.00017 mol NaCl
Now, we need to calculate the milliosmoles (mOsm) of the NaCl solution. Since NaCl dissociates into Na+ and Cl- in water, we consider van't Hoff factor (i) to be 2.
0.00017 mol * 2 = 0.00034 mOsm
Normal blood concentration has an osmolality of around 280-300 milliosmoles per kilogram (mOsm/kg).
Now we convert the mOsm to mOsm/kg:
0.00034 mOsm / (0.1 kg / 1000) = 3.4 mOsm/kg
Comparing the estimated 3.4 mOsm/kg to the normal blood concentration range of 280-300 mOsm/kg, we can conclude that the 0.01% (m/v) NaCl solution is hypotonic compared to normal blood concentration.
In summary, a 0.01% (m/v) NaCl solution is hypotonic compared to normal blood concentration because it has a lower osmolality, which means it has a lower solute concentration than normal blood, potentially causing water to move into the cells via osmosis.