Question

If cells of onion peel and RBC are separately kept in a hypotonic solution, what among the following will take place?
A) Both the cells will swell
B) RBC will burst easily while cells of onion peel will resist the bursting to some extent
C) A and B both are correct
D) RBC and onion peel cells will behave similarly

Answer 1

Hint:A hypotonic solution is a solution that has lower osmotic pressure. The concentration of solutes is less and more water content is found in hypotonic solutions as compared to other solutions.

Complete answer:
When the cells are kept in a hypotonic solution, endosmosis occurs, i.e., inward movement of water. Endosmosis is the movement of the water inside the cells when the cell is placed in a hypotonic solution. This movement of water causes the cell to swell that’s why when both the cells are kept in hypotonic solution both will swell as the amount of solutes in both the cells is high which leads to accretion of water in both the cells due to osmosis. The RBC cells burst easily after swelling because they are animal cells and do not have cell walls. The onion peel possesses a cell wall which makes it resistant to bursting due to swelling caused by endosmosis.
Therefore, option C is correct, both the cells will swell but RBC will burst easily while cells of onion peel will resist the bursting to some extent.
Note: (i)The movement of water molecules through a selectively permeable membrane from a region of high water concentration to low water concentration is called osmosis.
(ii)There are three types of solutions which cause osmosis -
>Isotonic solution- which contains equal amounts of solutes and water.
>Hypertonic solution- which contains more amount of solutes and less water.
>Hypotonic solution- which contains less amount of solutes and more water.