When water moves into red blood cells placed in a hypotonic environment, they will _____.

Question

BlackTom AI · Accepted Answer

When considering what happens to red blood cells in a hypotonic environment, the key concept is osmotic balance.

Option 1: crenate. Crenation describes shrinkage of cells that occurs when they are placed in a hypertonic solution, where the surrounding fluid has a higher solute concentration than the inside of the cell. Since a hypotonic environment has a lower solute concentration outside the cell, water tends to enter rather than leave, so crenation would not occur here.

Option 2: swell and hemolyze. In a hypotonic solution, water moves down its concentration gradient into the cell. This influx causes the cell to swell, and if the osmotic pressure becomes excessive, the cell membrane may rupture, leading to hemolysis. This describes the expected outcome for red blood cells under hypotonic stress.

Option 3: remain unchanged. If the extracellular solution is hypotonic, the osmotic gradient drives water into the cell rather than keeping the cell unchanged. Therefore, remaining unchanged contradicts the fundamental effect of hypotonic environments on cells.

In summary, the hypotonic environment drives water into red blood cells, causing them to swell and potentially hemolyze; the other options reflect responses to hypertonic or isotonic conditions rather than hypotonic ones.

When water moves into red blood cells placed in a hypotonic environment, they will _____.

查看解析

登录即可查看完整答案

类似问题

When soaked in a hypertonic solution, water will move ____ the red blood cells.

When water moves into red blood cells placed in a hypotonic environment, they will

When water moves into potato cells soaked in a hypotonic solution, they will become _____.

When soaked in a hypotonic solution, water will move ____ the red blood cells.

When soaked in a hypertonic solution, water will move ____ potato cells.

When soaked in an isotonic solution, water will move ____ the Elodea cells.

What type of solution will cause an Elodea cell to become turgid?

更多留学生实用工具

考试浏览器助手

风格化写作助手

论文查重助手

文献引用助手

课堂转译助手

课堂笔记助手

Quiz搜索助手

学校历年真题

智能刷题助手

智能匹配练习

希望你的学习变得更简单