Cell with 20% salt, and solution with 60% salt; movement of water out of the cell
To understand the movement of water out of the cell, we can use the concept of osmosis. Osmosis is the movement of water across a selectively permeable membrane from an area of lower solute concentration to an area of higher solute concentration.
In this scenario, the cell has a salt concentration of 20%. The surrounding solution has a higher salt concentration of 60%. Since water moves from a region of lower solute concentration to a region of higher solute concentration, water will move out of the cell.
To explain how to calculate the direction and extent of water movement, we need to determine the concentration gradient and to understand the tonicity of the solution.
1. Calculate the concentration gradient:
Concentration gradient is the difference in solute concentration between two regions. In this case, the concentration gradient is 60% - 20% = 40%.
2. Determine the tonicity of the solution:
Tonicity describes how a solution will affect the movement of water across a cell membrane. It depends on the relative concentrations of solutes inside and outside the cell.
- Hypotonic Solution: If the surrounding solution has a lower solute concentration than the cell, water will move into the cell. In this case, since the surrounding solution has a higher solute concentration (60%) compared to the cell (20%), it is not a hypotonic solution.
- Hypertonic Solution: If the surrounding solution has a higher solute concentration than the cell, water will move out of the cell. In this case, the surrounding solution (60% salt) is hypertonic to the cell (20% salt), so water will move out of the cell.
Therefore, water will move out of the cell due to the hypertonicity of the surrounding solution. The extent of water loss will depend on the concentration gradient and the properties of the cell membrane.