A cell that is 3% salt is placed in a container of pure water. What will happen to the cell's size?

Answer 1

the water would go into the cell slowly and the size of the cell would increase.

I believe this to be true, but I'm not too sure, so double check with others. Osmosis will act to try to balance the concentration gradient because the cell has a high concentration of solutes compared to pure water.

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Answer 2

The cell's size increases.

The cell contains #3%# salt, so we can safely assume that it contains #100%-3%=97%# water. Pure water contains #100%# water of course, and so osmosis happens.

Recall that osmosis is the process by which solvent particles—typically water—move across a partially permeable membrane, in this case the cell membrane, along a concentration gradient.

Water will therefore flow out of the solution and into the cell, increasing its volume; if this happens in excess, the cell will eventually burst.

When there is a greater concentration of water outside the cell than inside, the situation is referred to as a hypotonic environment.

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Answer 3

The cell will shrink due to the process of osmosis, where water molecules move from an area of lower solute concentration (pure water) to an area of higher solute concentration (the cell with 3% salt), in an attempt to equalize the solute concentration on both sides of the cell membrane. This movement of water out of the cell causes it to shrink.

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Answer from HIX Tutor

When evaluating a one-sided limit, you need to be careful when a quantity is approaching zero since its sign is different depending on which way it is approaching zero from. Let us look at some examples.

When evaluating a one-sided limit, you need to be careful when a quantity is approaching zero since its sign is different depending on which way it is approaching zero from. Let us look at some examples.

When evaluating a one-sided limit, you need to be careful when a quantity is approaching zero since its sign is different depending on which way it is approaching zero from. Let us look at some examples.

When evaluating a one-sided limit, you need to be careful when a quantity is approaching zero since its sign is different depending on which way it is approaching zero from. Let us look at some examples.

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