Question

The solution outside of a cell is a hypotonic sugar-water solution. Which would typically be the result of osmosis so that a cell may maintain homeostasis?

Answer 1

When the solution a cell is subject to is considered hypotonic, it means that the solution is less concentrated than the cell. In this case, the sugar concentration in the solution outside the cell is lower than the sugar concentration inside the cell. The cell's homeostatic response to this would be to swell up, allowing water from the solution to enter the cell. This dilutes the concentration of sugar inside the cell to balance the concentration of the solution outside the cell until both are equal.