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

When plant cells are bathed in hypertonic solution water molecules from cytosol of the cell would diffuse out. This results in shrinkage of cytoplasm inside the cell wall. Hence plant cell appear flaccid under microscopic observation.

When animal cells are bathed in hypertonic solution water from the outer medium would enter into the cytosol. Hence the increasing water content in the cell would exert pressure on the plasma membrane. On microscopic observation they appear swollen.

When flaccid plant cells are placed in hypotonic solution water from the outer medium would enter into the cytosol of plant cell restoring the cell to normal condition. When this plant cell to are placed in hypotonic medium for prolonged duration excess of water from the hypotonic solution would enter into normal plant cell rendering them turgid.

When an animal with shirveled cytoplasm is placed in hypotonic solution water from the outer solution would enter into the cytosol and gradually restore the cell to normal condition. In order to maintain these cells under physiologically normal condition replace the hypertonic solution with isotonic solution and suspend those cells in them. When these cells are placed in isotonic solution an equilibrium is established between movement of water molecules into and out of the cell.

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