Question

What are the consequences of the following conditions below?

(a) A cell containing higher water concentration than the surrounding medium

(b) A cell having low water concentration than the surrounding medium.

(c) A cell having equal water concentration to its surrounding medium.

Answer 1

(a) The water moves from higher concentration to lower concentration that is from inside the cell to the surrounding medium and hence the cell shrinks.

(b) The water moves from outside to inside and the cell swells.

(c) The cell will be rigid as the concentration of water is same inside and outside. In all the cases, the principle behind is osmosis.