Lesson 6: Water Potential Flashcards
What is the definition a of a solution?
a homogeneous mixture of a solvent and a solute.
What is a the definition of a solute?
dissolves in the solvent to form a solution.
What is the definition of a solvent?
a substance in which a solute is dissolved in to form a solution.
Why can water dissolve so many substance?
The polarity of water allows it to dissolve many ionic compounds. The negative ions of water gets attracted to the positive part of the solute. The positive ions of water gets attracted to the negative part of the solute.
What is a hypertonic solution?
higher concentration of solutes compared to another solution.
What is a hypotonic solution?
lower concentration of solutes.
What is an isotonic solution?
same concentration of solutes.
What is osmosis?
the passive movement of water molecules from a hypotonic solution to a hypertonic solution.
What happens to plant cells in a hypertonic solution?
water moves out
Cell becomes plasmolyzed (shrivelled)
cell membrane and cytoplasm detaches from cell wall.
What happens to plant cells in a hypotonic solution?
Water moves in
Cell becomes turgid
vacuole swells and pushes against the cell wall
What happens to plant cells in an isotonic solution?
no net movement of water
Cell is flaccid
What happens to animal cells in hypertonic solutions?
Crenation (shrinkage)
What happens to animal cells in hypotonic solution?
Cytolysis (bursting)
What is the water potential equation?
water potential = solute potential + pressure potential.
what is water potential measured in?
kilopascals (kPa)
