Question

Cell has:

-90% h2o
-10 solute
Outside of Cell has:
-85% h2o
-15% solute

Is this hypotonic or hypertonic?

Answer 1

The external environment of the cell, with 85% water and 15% solute, is hypertonic compared to the cell's internal environment, which has 90% water and 10% solute. This results in a net movement of water out of the cell, causing it to potentially shrink.

Step-by-step explanation:

The situation described involves comparing the solute concentration inside a cell with the solute concentration of the environment outside of the cell. Since the cell has 90% water and 10% solute, and the outside environment has 85% water and 15% solute, we can determine that the external solution is hypertonic relative to the cell's internal environment. This is because the outside solution has a higher concentration of solute (15%) compared to the solute concentration inside the cell (10%), which leads to a net movement of water out of the cell, potentially causing the cell to shrink.

In a hypotonic situation, the fluid outside the cell has a lower solute concentration than inside the cell, leading to water entering the cell. However, this is not the case in the scenario provided. Tonicity in living systems is crucial as it can cause cells to either swell, stay the same, or shrink, depending on the movement of water due to osmosis influenced by the solute concentrations inside and outside of the cell.

Answer 2

If the solute concentration outside the cell is lower than inside the cell, and the solutes cannot cross the membrane, then that solution is hypotonic to the cell. If a cell is placed in an isotonic solution,