Assume you are observing different types of cells under a microscope. If you wer

Question

Assume you are observing different types of cells under a microscope.

If you were observing plant cells, bathed in a solution that is hypertonic to the interior of the cells, would you expect to see plant cells that are turgid, flaccid, or plasmolyzed?

If you were observing animal cells, bathed in a solution that is hypotonic to the interior of the cells, would you expect to see animal cells that are swollen/lysed, normal, or shriveled?

For the following two questions, describe the solution in terms of tonicity (hypotonic, hypertonic, or isotonic).   Remember that tonicity is a relative description, you must describe the solutions tonicity relative to the other solution.

If you were observing plant cells, and the cells were flaccid, what solution would you add to the cells to make them turgid?

If you were observing animal cells, and the cells were shriveled, what steps should you take to make the cells physiologically normal, and then maintain them in this condition? [Think about this carefully, the question is more complicated than you might think at first.]

Explanation / Answer

1)

When plant cells are placed in hypotonic solution, the cells undergo selling due tomovement of solution into the cells. The plant cells have rigid cell walls, the swelling of cells increases the turgor pressure inside the cells and cell wall is pushed out but lysis is not observed.

2)

When animal cells are placed in hypotonic solution, the solution moves into the cells resulting in swelling of cells. The animal cells does not contain cell walls and hence, the pressure due to movement of solution into cells causes them to undergo lysis.

3)

If the plant cells are flaccid they are placed in ahypertonic solution and to make them turgid, hypotonic solution must be added.

4)

When the animal cells are shriveled, they might have placed in a hypertonic solution. To bring them to physiologically normal state, they must be placed in distilled water (neutral pH - hypotonic) so that their pH will return to normal and they are maintained in a staedy state.

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