Final answer:
The process through which bacteria shrink in a strong salt solution as water moves out is called osmosis, specifically resulting in plasmolysis within a hypertonic solution.
Step-by-step explanation:
When bacteria are placed in a strong solution of salt water, they will shrink as water moves out of the bacteria through a process called osmosis. This is due to the environment outside the cell having a higher solute concentration, known as a hypertonic solution. The cell shrinks because water follows its concentration gradient, moving from an area of lower solute concentration inside the bacterial cell to the higher solute concentration outside in the salt solution. The phenomenon of the cell shrinking is referred to as plasmolysis, where the cell membrane pulls away from the cell wall as it loses water.
The correct answer is b) Hypertonic solution. When bacteria are placed in a strong solution of salt water, which has a higher solute concentration than the bacteria, water particles move out of the bacteria. This causes the bacterial cells to shrink and the cell membrane to detach from the cell wall, a process known as plasmolysis.