Question

11. Suppose a human blood cell containing a 0.9 percent solute concentration were put into a container of 30 percent solute solution. Would the blood cell get bigger or smaller? Why? In your explanation, you must tell me which area has the hypotonic solution (inside the blood cell or outside the blood cell), which area has the hypertonic solution (inside the blood cell or outside the blood cell), and which direction the water would be moving (into the cell or out of the cell).

Answer 1

The blood cell would get smaller in this scenario.

The 0.9 percent solute concentration inside the blood cell would be considered hypotonic compared to the 30 percent solute solution outside the blood cell, which is hypertonic. This means that there is a higher concentration of solute outside the cell compared to inside the cell. As a result, water would move from an area of lower solute concentration (inside the cell) to an area of higher solute concentration (outside the cell) in an attempt to balance the concentration of solutes. This process is called osmosis.

Since the water is moving out of the cell, the cell will lose water and shrink in size. The concentration of solutes inside the cell will increase, making the cell more hypertonic compared to the solution outside the cell. This will continue until the concentration of solutes inside and outside the cell is equalized.