Tonicity

Front

What is tonicity?

Back

Tonicity refers to the ability of a surrounding solution to cause a cell to gain or lose water.

Front

What is a hypertonic solution?

Back

A hypertonic solution has a higher concentration of solutes compared to the inside of the cell, causing water to flow out of the cell.

Front

What is a hypotonic solution?

Back

A hypotonic solution has a lower concentration of solutes compared to the inside of the cell, causing water to flow into the cell.

Front

What happens to a cell in a hypertonic solution?

Back

The cell will lose water and may shrink or crenate.

Front

What happens to a cell in a hypotonic solution?

Back

The cell will gain water and may swell or burst (lyse).

Front

Define osmosis.

Back

Osmosis is the movement of water across a selectively permeable membrane from an area of low solute concentration to an area of high solute concentration.

Front

What is diffusion?

Back

Diffusion is the movement of solute particles from an area of high concentration to an area of low concentration.

Front

What is isotonic solution?

Back

An isotonic solution has the same concentration of solutes as the inside of the cell, resulting in no net movement of water.

Front

How does solute concentration affect water movement?

Back

Water moves towards the area of higher solute concentration to balance the concentrations on both sides of the membrane.

Front

What is the role of the cell membrane in tonicity?

Back

The cell membrane is selectively permeable, allowing certain substances to pass while restricting others, which is crucial for maintaining tonicity.