Question

What color does safranin turn each of the cells in a gram stain?

a) Purple
b) Red
c) Blue
d) Green

Answer 1

Gram-positive cells appear purple and Gram-negative cells appear pink in a Gram stain.

Step-by-step explanation:

After the Gram stain process is applied, Gram-positive cells appear purple while Gram-negative cells appear pink. Gram-positive cells retain the crystal violet dye, while the alcohol decolorizer dissolves the outer membrane of Gram-negative cells, allowing the pink safranin dye to be taken up. This difference in color is due to the structural differences in their cell walls.