Question

A cell is placed in a solution of sugar and water. The cell has a sugar solution made-up of 15mg of sugar, and the outside has a sugar solution made-up of 20mg of sugar. The cell membrane is permeable to both water and sugar. Which statement MOST accurately describes what will happen to the cell?

A. The cell will swell due to osmosis.
B. The cell will shrink due to osmosis.
C. The cell will remain unchanged.
D. The cell will burst.

Answer 1

The cell will shrink due to osmosis.

Step-by-step explanation:

The correct statement is B: The cell will shrink due to osmosis.

When a cell is placed in a solution with a higher concentration of solutes (hypertonic solution), water will move out of the cell through osmosis, causing the cell to shrink. In this case, the cell has a lower concentration of sugar compared to the surrounding solution, so water will move out of the cell to equalize the concentration, resulting in the cell shrinking.

This process of water movement is driven by the concentration gradient between the inside and outside of the cell and the permeability of the cell membrane to water.