Question

Wes places red blood cells in a petri dish with pure water and observes them under a microscope. He drew a model to illustrate his observations.

What is the most likely explanation for Wes’s observations?

a.      The red blood cells were placed into an isotonic solution. Water moved into and out of the cells to maintain homeostasis.

b.      The red blood cells were placed into an isotonic solution. Water moved into the cells until the cells burst.

c.      The red blood cells were placed in a hypertonic solution. Water moved from the inside of the cells to the outside of the cells to maintain homeostasis.

d.      The red blood cells were placed in a hypotonic solution. Water moved from the outside of the cells to the inside of the cells until the cells burst.

Answer 1

Answer-

d. The red blood cells were placed in a hypotonic solution. Water moved from the outside of the cells to the inside of the cells until the cells burst.

Pure water is hypotonic to red blood cells as it contains no solutes and is less concentrated than RBC . This leads to osmosis where water flows from lower concentration to higher concentration to dilute the cell interior and bring it to be isotonic to external environment , so the cell swells up with water ,it loses its biconcave shapeand becomes spehrical and bursts.

The model is not provided in the question . But pure water is soluteless so it will be hypotonic to any cell .

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