Question

1. A patient who has had a severe hemorrhage accidentally receives a transfusion of a concentrated salt solution. What would be the effect on the patients red blood cells? Explain using your knowledge on osmosis and tonicity.
2. Wallway is a new general herbicide for aquatic plants. Its main ingredient is a marine salt solution. It is effective against freshwater plants but not saltwater plants. Explain why freshwater plants die, using your knowledge on osmosis and tonicity.

Answer 1

Ques 1. Infusion of concentrated salt solution into the bloodstream makes solution hypertonic when compared to red blood cells (RBC). The concentrated salt solution increases total particle concentration around RBC making outer solution hypertonic. High salt concentration represents low water concentration around RBC.

Water moves from high concentration to low concentration across a semi-permeable membrane in osmosis and so, water will move out of the RBC through osmosis, and RBC will shrink.