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A 10% saline solution is called ______ relative to the interior of a cell.

a. isotonic
b. hypotonic
c. hypertonic
d. at equilibrium

1 Answer

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Final answer:

A 10% saline solution is hypertonic relative to the interior of a cell, leading to a potential loss of water from the cell and cell shrinkage.

Step-by-step explanation:

A 10% saline solution is called hypertonic relative to the interior of a cell. The term hypertonic describes a solution in which the extracellular fluid has a higher osmolarity than the fluid inside the cell. Consequently, the fluid contains a lower concentration of water compared to the cell. In this scenario, water will move out of the cell, leading to cell shrinkage or crenation.

This contrasts with isotonic solutions, where the solute concentration is equal inside and outside the cell, resulting in no net water movement, and hypotonic solutions, where the extracellular fluid has a lower solute concentration than the cell, leading to water entering the cell.

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