Question

A cell is observed to shrink after being immersed in an unknown solution. Would you predict that this solution was a highly concentration salt solution or distilled water? Explain your reasoning

Answer 1

The solution in which the cell was immersed had a high concentration of salt.

The cell shrunk because of the process of osmosis. In the process of osmosis, when two solutions are separated by a permeable membrane, the two solutions will tend to equalize their concentrations. The equalization usually happens because the dissolved particles move, but since the cell membrane does not allow the movement of the particles, the water molecules had to move.

The cell has shrunk because the solution outside of the cell had a very high concentration of salt and a lot of water escaped the cell in order to equalize the two solutions reducing the volume of the cell.

Answer 2

In my opinion, distilled water. water may have gone through the cell by osmosis, causing an overflow of large amounts into it. this will lead to the cell being too full with the water, leading it to burst.