Recall what you know about hypertonic, hypotonic, and isotonic solutions. When an environment is hypotonic, what happens to the cell?(1 point)

Question

Responses

The environment has more solute, so solvent moves from outside the cell to inside, causing the cell to swell.
The environment has more solute, so solvent moves from outside the cell to inside, causing the cell to swell.

The cell has more solute, so solvent moves from outside the cell to inside, causing the cell to swell.
The cell has more solute, so solvent moves from outside the cell to inside, causing the cell to swell.

The environment has more solute, so solvent moves from inside the cell to outside, causing the cell to shrink.
The environment has more solute, so solvent moves from inside the cell to outside, causing the cell to shrink.

The cell has more solute, so solvent moves from inside the cell to outside, causing the cell to shrink.

Answer 1

In a hypotonic environment, the solution outside the cell has a lower concentration of solutes compared to the inside of the cell. As a result, water moves from the area of low solute concentration (outside the cell) to the area of high solute concentration (inside the cell), causing the cell to swell as it takes in water.

So, the correct response is:

The environment has more solute, so solvent moves from inside the cell to outside, causing the cell to shrink. (This option, however, is incorrect. In a hypotonic solution, the environment has less solute, not more. So the accurate statement should be that water moves into the cell, causing it to swell.)

In summary, in a hypotonic environment, water moves into the cell, leading to swelling. The correct statement should reflect that the external environment has lower solute concentration than the cell, causing water to flow into the cell.