Osmosis in animal cells

Question 1

What would happen if you put red blood cells into distilled water

Answer 1

• The red blood cells have a low water potential
• The water potential outside the cell is high e.g. Zero
• Water therefore passes into the cell via osmosis
• The cell continues to expand, until it bursts (Haemolysis)
• HAEM O LYSIS
• The reason it bursts is because the red blood cell does not have a cell membrane

Question 2

What would happen if you put the red blood cells into a strong salt solution (A hypertonic solution)

Answer 2

The solute potential inside the cell is greater than the water potential outside of the cell

Water therefore moves out of the cell via diffusion

Red blood cells look crinkled (Crenated) when this happens

It can occur in cases of severe dehydration.

Question 3

Which group of organisms does an amoeba belong to

Answer 3

Proctotists

Question 4

What type of theoretical problem might an amoeba living in fresh water have

Answer 4

Water continually enters the cell because it has a negative solute potential which could mean it bursts

Question 5

So what does an amoeba in fresh water not burst

Answer 5

An amoeba has a contractile vacuole

Water enters this contractile vacuole, via osmosis, when it is full, it moves to the cell membrane and passes water outside of the cell

A new contractile vacuole then starts to fill up