Question

Salt water fish ingest high amounts of salt from ocean water when consuming food. Fish have specialized cells that help maintain the correct concentration of salt in their blood. Which cell process shows how active transport helps fish maintain homeostasis with their environment?

A. Salt particles are converted to food within the fish to produce energy.
B. Salt particles are stored in the fish cells to keep them from dissolving into the fish’s blood and affecting vital organs.
C. Salt particles are pumped out of the fish and into the ocean to ensure a low concentration of salt particles in the blood.
D. Salt particles are used within the fish cells to create proteins.

Answer 1

Saltwater fish use active transport to pump salt out of their cells and maintain osmotic homeostasis in their hypertonic environment, ensuring the correct salt concentration in their blood. The correct option is C.

Step-by-step explanation:

The cell process by which saltwater fish maintain homeostasis in their hypertonic environment is active transport. The correct answer to the question is: C. Salt particles are pumped out of the fish and into the ocean to ensure a low concentration of salt particles in the blood.

Saltwater fish actively secrete salt through their gills and excrete concentrated urine to prevent the accumulation of excess salt in their bodies, which otherwise could lead to dehydration and disrupted cellular function. In contrast to marine invertebrates that are isotonic with their environment, fish expend considerable energy to maintain osmotic balance, a process critical for their survival.

It involves the active transport of ions against their concentration gradients, which is an energy-consuming process, fundamentally important for the regulation of salt and water balance. The correct option is C. Salt particles are pumped out of the fish and into the ocean to ensure a low concentration of salt particles in the blood.