73.5k views
5 votes
If a person receives an iv of pure water, their blood cells will swell and burst. Which statement best describes the role of the cell membrane in this process

1 Answer

1 vote

Answer:

There are no options but on a general note, the cell membrane acts as a semi-permeable membrane that controls the entrance and exit of water in the cell.

Step-by-step explanation:

The principle of OSMOSIS, which is the process whereby water moves from a region of high concentration of solvent (low solute concentration) to a region of low concentration of solvent (high solute concentration) via a semi-permeable membrane appies here. The pure water passed into the body via intravenous fluid (IV) will make the surrounding environment of the blood cells hypotonic (contain low solute concentration) than the blood cell itself, which is hypertonic (has more solute concentration).

Based on the osmotic principle, an osmotic gradient that will propel the movement of water from the surrounding environment (low solute concentration) into the blood cell (high solute concentration) has been formed by the difference in concentration. The movement of water occurs through the cell membrane of the red blood cells which acts as the semi-permeable membrane in living systems. The cell membrane allows water move into the cell, down the concentration gradient.

Eventually, the blood cell swells as a result of too much water, and bursts.

User Zemistr
by
5.0k points