In biology, hypertonic, hypotonic, and isotonic solutions refer to the concentrations of solutes in comparison to those inside a cell.
- Hypertonic solution: A hypertonic solution has a higher concentration of solutes (such as salts or sugars) compared to the solute concentration inside a cell. When a cell is placed in a hypertonic solution, water from inside the cell will move out to balance the concentration, leading to cell shrinkage or shriveling.
- Hypotonic solution: A hypotonic solution has a lower concentration of solutes compared to the solute concentration inside a cell. When a cell is placed in a hypotonic solution, water will move into the cell to balance the concentration, causing the cell to swell or even burst (lyse) if the influx of water is excessive.
- Isotonic solution: An isotonic solution has an equal concentration of solutes compared to the solute concentration inside a cell. When a cell is in an isotonic solution, water moves freely into and out of the cell without causing any net change in its size.
When an environment is hypotonic (lower solute concentration outside the cell), water will move into the cell due to osmosis, causing the cell to swell or potentially burst.
recall what you know about hypertonic, hypotonic and isotonic solution when an environment is hypnotic what happens to the cell
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