Final answer:
The 0.5 Molar glucose solution (option a) is the most hypotonic compared to the 0.25 Molar NaCl and 0.5 OsMolar NaCl solutions because it has the lowest concentration of solute particles when considering ion dissociation of NaCl.
Step-by-step explanation:
To determine which solution is the most hypotonic relative to the others, we must consider the osmolarity of each solution. Osmolarity is a measure of the total concentration of solute particles.
Sodium chloride (NaCl) dissociates into two ions, Na+ and Cl-, when dissolved in water, while glucose does not dissociate.
- A 0.5 Molar glucose solution has an osmolarity of 0.5 osmol/L since it does not dissociate.
- A 0.25 Molar NaCl solution has an osmolarity of 0.25 M x 2 = 0.5 osmol/L.
- The 0.5 OsMolar NaCl solution directly indicates an osmolarity of 1.0 osmol/L, as it is already reported in osmolar units.
From these calculations, the 0.25 Molar NaCl solution is the most hypotonic because it has an osmolarity equal to the 0.5 Molar glucose solution. However, when considering NaCl's ability to dissociate into two particles, this is effectively a trick in the question wording. The 0.5 Molar glucose solution (option a) actually has the lowest concentration of solute particles compared to the two other solutions, assuming 0.5 OsMolar refers to osmolality, not osmolarity. Therefore, 0.5 Molar glucose is the correct answer. The solutions compared to normal body fluids are neither all isotonic, nor is the glucose solution more concentrated than the other solutions listed.