A red blood cell is placed in a solution.
Contributed by StemPy LabTry it on paper first. A hint, the key idea and the worked solution are here when you need them.
A red blood cell is placed in a solution. After some time it is smaller than before, and its edge looks wrinkled. Is the solution hypotonic, isotonic or hypertonic to the cell? In which direction was the net movement of water?
Need a reminder? The key ideaShow
Osmosis is the movement of water through a selectively permeable membrane towards the side with more dissolved substance. Hypotonic: the cell swells. Isotonic: no change. Hypertonic: the cell shrinks.
The worked solution
Have you tried it?
Work it out on paper first. It is fine to get stuck or make a mistake: that is how we learn. When you are ready, go through the solution one step at a time, and check each step against your own.
Step 1. What happened. The cell shrank, so it lost water.
Step 2. The solution. Water leaves towards the side with more dissolved substance, so the solution is hypertonic.
Answer: hypertonic; the net movement of water was out of the cell.
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