If you place a grape in a large amount of sugar water, what will happen to it and why?
"Hypo to Hyper, like a windshield wiper!"
That's how I learned it.
Everybody likes homeostasis, so when you have an imbalance like too much sugar outside a cell (or in this case, a grape), it will take responsibility and try to fix things by rebalancing the amount of water on both the inside and outside of the cell. It does this by channeling as much water as it can to decrease the concentration of the sugar water.
If you have a very plump grape and suddenly all the juices are taken out of the grape, what happens? Is it still plump?
I disagree.
When a grape is placed in a large amount of sugar water, a process called osmosis occurs. Osmosis is the movement of water across a selectively permeable membrane, which is the grape's cell membrane in this case. Here is an explanation of what happens step by step:
1. Initially, the grape and sugar water have different concentrations of water and sugar molecules. The grape contains more water and fewer dissolved sugar molecules, while the sugar water has a higher concentration of sugar molecules and less water.
2. Because of this difference in concentration, water molecules will naturally move from an area of lower concentration (the grape) to an area of higher concentration (the sugar water). This process is known as diffusion.
3. As water moves out of the grape, the grape loses water and becomes slightly shriveled. This happens because the grape's cell membrane is permeable to water, allowing it to pass through.
4. Simultaneously, sugar molecules from the sugar water move into the grape, trying to achieve equilibrium. This movement of molecules is facilitated by osmosis.
5. As sugar molecules enter the grape, the concentration of sugar inside the grape increases. This higher concentration of sugar helps create a gradient that pulls water out of the grape.
6. The grape continues to lose water to the sugar water until the concentration of sugar inside and outside the grape is equal, or until equilibrium is reached.
In summary, when a grape is placed in a large amount of sugar water, it will lose water and become shriveled due to osmosis. This occurs because water molecules move from an area of lower concentration (the grape) to an area of higher concentration (the sugar water), in an attempt to balance the concentration of molecules on both sides of the grape's cell membrane.