Question

You are choosing your favorite fresh vegetables at the grocery store when you are suddenly sprayed with a mist of water meant for the vegetables. Why would the grocer want to water the fresh produce? a) water makes the fruit look shiny and appealing. b) fresh crops are often dirty and the grocer wants the produce clean. c) pure water on the produce would put it in a hypotonic environment and keep the produce firm. d) pure water on the produce would put it in a hypertonic environment and keep the produce firm.

Answer 1

c) pure water on the produce would put it in a hypotonic environment and keep the produce firm.

Step-by-step explanation:

Ideally, in a natural environment, plants leafs remain fresh and firm looking by absorbing water from their natural environment. However, in a case where these vegetables have been removed from their natural environment, they have lost the ability to absorb water under natural conditions.

In order to keep the leaf cells of the vegetables firm and rigid, so they can look fresh and appealing, they have to be placed in a hypotonic condition i.e. an external condition with high concentration of water. To do this, a grocer in a supermarket will occasionally spray the vegetables with pure water to keep the vegetables' cell from drying out and hence lead to wilting, which would make the vegetables less appealing to customers.