Tuesday, January 10, 2012
How does osmosis, difusion, hypotonic solution, isotonic solution, and hypertonic solution relate to the cell?
Cells need water. (Just like humans need water... and plants... and stuff). Anyways, water is unable to get through the plasma membrane of the cell because of its polar nature. Instead, it has to go through specialized proteins called aquaporins. Water goes through aquaporins by osmosis, which has to do with solute concentrations. If the cell is hypertonic, water would go in, causing the cell to swell up and eventually burst if its an animal cell. If the cell is hypotonic, water would go out, causing the cell to shrivel up. For an isotonic solution, there would be equilibrium, water would go in and out in equal amounts.
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