Question

Which of the following is true for cells placed in distilled water?
A. The cells remain unchanged
B. Water moves from inside of the cell to the outside
C. Water moves from outside of the cell to the inside
D. The cells shrink
E. The cells dissolve

Answer 1

Hint: To know the answer we should understand the concept of water potential. This term is used by the biologist to describe the water that tends to leave one place in favour of another place. Water always moves from the higher potential area to the lower potential area.

Complete answer:
The behaviour of the cell with regards to the water is depending upon the surrounding solution. The distilled water is free from the impurities and solutes. It is a purified form of water. Thus, the distilled water is hypotonic as compared to the cell. The hypotonic solution is that solution where the concentration of the solute is less as compared to the cells. The difference in the concentration of molecules between the two compartments leads to the water to enter the cells. The cells have more amount of solute concentration and thus the cell is hypertonic. When a cell is placed in the distilled water, water moves from outside environments to the inside the cells. Therefore, in this case, water moves from outside to inside the cells. When the water moves inside the water, all the content inside the cells will expand which leads to the swelling of the cell.

Hence, the correct answer is option (C).

Note: Hypertonic solution: In this solution, the concentration of solute is higher outside as compared to inside the cells. Thus water moves from the inside to the outside the cells due to which cells shrink and wrinkle.
Isotonic solution: In this solution, the concentration of solutes is equal in both the outside and inside the cell. This is the equilibrium condition. Thus, water does move neither out nor inside the cells. Therefore the size and shape of the cell do not change and such cells are called flaccid cells.