Recall what you know about hypertonic, hypotonic, and isotonic solutions. What happens to the cell in a hypotonic solution?(1 point)

Question

Responses

The cell has less solute in its environment, so the cell membrane extends around the solute and takes it out of the cell.
The cell has less solute in its environment, so the cell membrane extends around the solute and takes it out of the cell.

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

The cell and the environment have an equal amount of solute, so there is no net movement of solvent in and out of the cell.
The cell and the environment have an equal amount of solute, so there is no net movement of solvent in and out of the cell.

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

Answer 1

In a hypotonic solution, the solute concentration outside the cell is lower than inside the cell. As a result, water moves into the cell through osmosis in an attempt to equalize the solute concentrations. This influx of water causes the cell to swell and can potentially lead to cytolysis (bursting of the cell) if too much water enters.

Therefore, the correct response to what happens to the cell in a hypotonic solution is:

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