If a red blood cell is placed in a HYPOTONIC solution, what will most likely happen to the cell?
a
water moves into the cell causing it to burst.
b
salt moves into the cell causing it to burst.
c
water moves out of the cell causing it to shrink.
d
salt moves out of the cell causing it to shrink
a: Water moves into the cell causing it to burst.
The correct answer is:
c) Water moves out of the cell causing it to shrink.
Explanation:
When a red blood cell is placed in a hypotonic solution, it means that the concentration of solutes (such as salt) is lower outside the cell than inside. As a result, water moves into the cell through a process called osmosis, in an attempt to equalize the concentration of solutes on both sides of the cell membrane. This increased influx of water causes the cell to swell and potentially burst. However, in this case, the solution is hypotonic, meaning there is a lower concentration of solutes outside the cell. As a result, water moves out of the cell, causing it to shrink.
To determine the most likely outcome for a red blood cell placed in a HYPOTONIC solution, we need to understand the concept of tonicity. Tonicity refers to the relative concentration of solutes in a solution compared to the concentration of solutes inside a cell.
In this case, a HYPOTONIC solution means that the concentration of solutes in the solution is lower than the concentration of solutes inside the red blood cell.
Given this information, we can eliminate options b and d because they suggest that salt moves into or out of the cell, which is not likely to happen in a HYPOTONIC solution.
Now let's consider the remaining options:
a) Water moves into the cell causing it to burst: Since the HYPOTONIC solution has a lower concentration of solutes compared to the red blood cell, water will move into the cell through osmosis. This can cause the cell to swell and potentially burst.
c) Water moves out of the cell causing it to shrink: This is unlikely in a HYPOTONIC solution because water tends to move from a hypotonic to hypertonic solution, meaning it moves from an area of lower solute concentration to an area of higher solute concentration.
Therefore, based on the concepts of tonicity and osmosis, the most likely outcome is option a - water moves into the cell causing it to burst.