Question

What would happen if a cell membrane let too much water into a cell?

Answer 1

Animal Cell

• When water moves into an animal cell (e.g. a red blood cell), the cell membrane stretches and the cell gets bigger. If this continues, the cell membrane will burst – this is called lysis.

Plant Cell

• When too much water moves out of a plant cell the cell contents shrink. This pulls the cell membrane away from the cell wall. A plasmolyzed cell is unlikely to survive.

Answer 2

When water moves into a plant cell, the vacuole gets bigger, pushing the cell membrane against the cell wall. ... The pressure created by the cell wall stops too much water entering and prevents cell lysis. If plants do not receive enough water the cells cannot remain turgid and the plant wilts.