Final answer:
In the process of osmosis, water moves across a cell membrane from an area of higher water concentration to one of lower water concentration. The movement depends on whether the surrounding solution is hypertonic or hypotonic relative to the cell's internal environment, causing water to either move out or into the cell.
Step-by-step explanation:
The effect of putting a cell in a solution where the membrane is impermeable to solute is B) Water moves into the cell by osmosis if the solution is hypotonic to the cell or A) Water moves out of the cell by osmosis if the solution is hypertonic to the cell.
Osmosis is the diffusion of water across a selectively permeable membrane from a region of higher water concentration to one of lower water concentration. When the extracellular environment has a higher solute concentration than the cell's cytosol, it creates a hypertonic condition, leading to the movement of water out of the cell to balance solute concentrations, which is option A. Conversely, in a hypotonic environment where the solute concentration outside the cell is lower than inside, water will move into the cell, as indicated in option B.