Question

What happens to red blood cells when placed in a hypotonic solution, where the term "hypotonic solution" refers to a solution with:

A) Higher solute concentration than the cells
B) Equal solute concentration to the cells
C) Lower solute concentration than the cells
D) No solutes

Answer 1

When red blood cells are placed in a hypotonic solution, they will swell and potentially burst due to water flow into the cells.

Step-by-step explanation:

When red blood cells are placed in a hypotonic solution, where the solute concentration is lower than the cells, water will move from the solution into the cells. As a result, the cells will swell and potentially burst in a process called hemolysis. This happens because the concentration of solutes inside the cell is higher than the concentration of solutes in the hypotonic solution, causing water to flow into the cell to balance the concentrations.