Question

Two compartments are separated by a membrane that is permeable to water and urea. Compartment I contains 1 M NaCl. Compartment II contains 2 M urea. Which of the following is an incorrect statement of their relationship based on the initial conditions?

A. Compartment Iis isosmotic to Compartment II.
B. Compartment I is hyposmotic to Compartment II.
C. Compartment I is hypertonic to Compartment II.
D. All of these are correct, none are incorrect

Answer 1

Based on the initial conditions, Compartment I is hypertonic to Compartment II.

Step-by-step explanation:

Based on the initial conditions, the correct statement is C. Compartment I is hypertonic to Compartment II.

Hypertonic means having a higher solute concentration compared to another solution. In this case, Compartment I contains 1 M NaCl, which is a higher solute concentration than Compartment II, which contains 2 M urea. Therefore, Compartment I is hypertonic to Compartment II.

Compartments I and II are not isosmotic because they have different solute concentrations, and Compartment I is not hyposmotic to Compartment II because it has a higher solute concentration.