Question

What will happen to a plant cell placed in a hypertonic solution?

• A. The cell will show plasmolysis.
• B. The cell will swell but remain intact.
• C. The cell will burst.
• D. The cell will remain unchanged.
• E. It will take up solutes.

Answer 1

Answer: (A)

The cell will show plasmolysis.

When a plant cell is placed in a hypertonic solution, the water inside the cells is drawn out by osmosis. The vacuoles decrease in size. The cytoplasm also shrinks away from the cellulose cell wall and plasmolysis occurs. This causes a lack of structure for the plant and causes it to wilt, or become flaccid.

A hypertonic solution is a particular type of solution that has a greater concentration of solutes on the outside of a cell when compared with the inside of a cell.