Question

Select the descriptions that accurately portray the observations of the potato cells in osmosis.

A) Water moves into the cells.
B) NaCl moves into the cells.
C) Water moves out of the cells.
D) NaCl moves out of the cells.

Answer 1

In osmosis, water moves into potato cells in a hypotonic environment (A) and out of cells in a hypertonic environment (C); NaCl movement is irrelevant to osmosis.

Step-by-step explanation:

The observations of potato cells in osmosis can accurately be described by: A) Water moves into the cells if the external environment is hypotonic relative to the cell's interior, and C) Water moves out of the cells if the external environment is hypertonic. The movement of NaCl is not part of osmosis since osmosis specifically refers to the movement of water across a semipermeable membrane due to concentration gradients. It is important to differentiate between osmosis, which is the movement of water, and diffusion or facilitated transport, which can involve solutes like NaCl.