Final answer:
Is pond water isotonic to Elodea cells? Generally, pond water is hypotonic to Elodea cells because it usually contains fewer dissolved solutes, leading to a net influx of water into the cells. The tonicity can be influenced by specific environmental conditions and Elodea species.
Step-by-step explanation:
The question regarding whether pond water is isotonic to Elodea cells: Is pond water isotonic to Elodea cells? The answer is not straight forward without specific context, because the tonicity of a solution relative to a cell depends on the concentration of solutes inside the cell compared to the surrounding environment.
In general, pond water is likely to be hypotonic to Elodea cells because fresh water typically has a lower concentration of dissolved solutes than the cellular fluid of Elodea cells. Tonicity in Living Systems explains that in an isotonic environment, the concentrations of solute and solvent are equal on both sides of a cell membrane, resulting in no net water movement and no change in the cell size.
In a hypotonic environment, where the pond water would potentially have fewer solutes than the Elodea cells, water would enter the cells, making them swell, while in a hypertonic environment, water would leave the cells, causing them to shrink. For Elodea, which are freshwater plants, pond water would typically be hypotonic.
Overall, it's critical to consider the specific environment and species, because different bodies of water and different Elodea species can have varying salt concentrations. However, the default expectation would be a hypotonic relationship given the freshwater habitat. Answer choices like 'depends on the Elodea species' and 'depends on temperature' might influence tonicity but do not directly answer the question without additional context.