Plant and animal cells in different solutions

Overview

Why an animal cell cannot resist bursting in pure water, what happens to a plant cell placed in pure water and term turgor.

What you need to know

Answer each one before you reveal it.

Questions from this subtopic

Each one with the model answer underneath.

1. 1

   Describe what happens to a red blood cell placed in pure water.

   Model answer

   Water enters by osmosis and the cell swells until the membrane bursts.

2. 2

   Name the process by which an animal cell bursts in a solution of higher water potential.

   Model answer

   The bursting of an animal cell in this way is called lysis.

3. 3

   Describe what happens to an animal cell placed in a concentrated solution.

   Model answer

   Water leaves the cell by osmosis and the cell shrinks, so the membrane becomes wrinkled and irregular.

4. 4

   Name the shrinking and wrinkling of an animal cell in a solution of lower water potential.

   Model answer

   This shrinking and wrinkling is called crenation.

5. 5

   Explain why an animal cell cannot resist bursting in pure water.

   Model answer

   It is bounded only by a thin flexible membrane, with no rigid wall to resist the increase in volume.

6. 6

   Describe what happens to a plant cell placed in pure water.

   Model answer

   Water enters by osmosis, the protoplast presses against the cell wall and the pressure potential rises until the cell becomes turgid.

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