Question

You have an egg that has an internal 7% salt concentration and you put it into a bowl of 3% salt water. What is the tonicity of the egg? What is the tonicity of the water in the bowl? Explain what will happen to the egg over time. Assume water can move across the cell membrane but the salt cannot. Be sure to use the appropriate terms to describe what occurs (solvent, solute, tonicity, specific type of transport, etc.) (2-3 sentences) *50 points

Answer 1

Answer:

Egg is HYPERTONIC

Water in the bowl is HYPOTONIC

The egg will become filled with water over time

Explanation:

Tonicity refers to the ability of an extracellular solution to direct the flow of a solvent (water) in and out a cell. There are three types of tonicity; hypertonic, hypotonic and isotonic. A solution is said to be HYPERTONIC when the concentration of solute in it is higher than its external solution. This is the case of the egg cell that contains 7% salt (solute).

A HYPOTONIC solution is that which contains a lower solute concentration than it's external solution. This is the case of the water in the bowl that contains 3% salt concentration.

Tonicity determines which direction osmosis occurs. Osmosis is the movement of solvent/water from a region of high solvent concentration/low solute to a region of low solvent concentration/high solute concentration via a semi-permeable membrane. In this case, water (solvent) will move through the egg cell membrane (semi-permeable membrane) from the bowl with a low solute concentration into the egg with a high solute concentration. Hence, over time, the egg cell will be filled with water.