Question 12 A freshwater paramecium is placed in salt water. Which of the following events would most likely occur ? (Ask yourself where the water in the paramecium is going ) swelling of the cell until it bursts b shriveling of the cell swelling of the cell until it becomes turgid an increase in the action of its contractile vacuole 0000

Answer 1

When a freshwater paramecium is placed in salt water, water will move out of the paramecium into the salt water due to osmosis, as the salt water is hypertonic compared to the interior of the paramecium. Consequently, the most likely event to occur is:

b) shriveling of the cell.

The paramecium will lose water and will not be able to swell or become turgid in a saltwater environment. Instead, it will become shriveled as it loses water to the surrounding environment. The contractile vacuole's action may increase to remove excess water, but in this scenario, the overall outcome for the paramecium is shriveling.