Question

A red blood cell placed in a medium that is hypertonic relative to its cytoplasm will _____. Multiple Choice expand and burst shrink have no change in shape become a white blood cell

Answer 1

Answer: shrink

A red blood cell placed in a medium that is hypertonic relative to its cytoplasm will shrink

Explanation:

Since the hypertonic medium has a higher concentration than the red blood cell, water will move out of the cell membrane of the red blood cell into the hypertonic medium.

Thus, after a while the continuous loss of water will cause the red blood cell to shrink (reduce in size)