Question

Why are contractile vacuoles important to unicellular organisms like paramecia

Answer 1

Contractile vacuoles are important to unicellular organisms like paramecia because they help regulate the water balance within the cell.

Step-by-step explanation:

Contractile vacuoles are important to unicellular organisms like paramecia because they help regulate the water balance within the cell. Paramecia live in hypotonic environments, such as freshwater, where there is a higher concentration of water outside the cell compared to inside. This causes water to constantly enter the cell through osmosis. The contractile vacuole acts as a pump, removing excess water from the cell to prevent it from bursting.

Answer 2

A contractile vacuole works just the same as the name suggests, in that it expands and contracts. The point of the contractile vacuole is to pump water out of the cell through a process called osmoregulation, the regulation of osmotic pressure. It occurs in freshwater protists, but mainly in the kingdom Protista as a whole.