What will happen to an animal cell placed in a salt water solution?

Question

A. The cell will shrink
B. The cell will expand
C. The cell will burst
D. The cell will shrink and then expand and then shrink again

Answer 1

A. The cell will shrink

When an animal cell is placed in a salt water solution (a hypertonic solution), water will move out of the cell in an attempt to balance the concentration of solutes inside and outside the cell. As a result, the cell will lose water and shrink.