Question

What would happen to an animal cell with an internal salt concentration of 70% if it were placed in a salt solution with a concentration of 20%? Why?

Answer 1

Answer:

It will swell and eventually burst because water from the environment is flowing into the cell

Explanation:

This question is describing OSMOSIS, which is the movement of water from a region of high concentration to a region of low concentration across a semi-permeable membrane. The osmotic process is facilitated by the formation of an OSMOTIC GRADIENT i.e. difference in concentration between the two sides of the membrane.

In this case, an animal cell containing an internal salt concentration of 70% (hypertonic) were placed in a salt solution with a concentration of 20% (hypotonic), OSMOSIS will occur in the sense that water will move from where it is more concentrated (salt solution) into where it is less concentrated (animal cell), hence, the animal cell will SWELL AND EVENTUALLY BURST.