When an environment is hypotonic, the cell has more solute so solvent move from outside the cell to inside causing the cell to swell.
WHAT IS TONICITY?
Tonicity is the ability of a solution to induce water loss or water gain in a cell. A solution can either be; hypertonic, hypotonic or isotonic
A hypertonic solution has more concentration of solute than its surroundings while a hypotonic solution has less concentration of solute compared to it's surroundings.
If a hypotonic solution has less solute, this means that it will have more solvent (water). Based on the principle of osmosis, water moves from a region of high concentration to region of low concentration.
Hence, water will move into a cell that is located in a hypotonic environment, causing it to swell.
