Osmosis plants

Question 1

What does a turgid cell look like?

Answer 1

Cell stiffens but generally retains shape

Question 2

What does a plasmolysed cell look like?

Answer 2

Cell body shrinks and pulls away from the cell wall

Question 3

Why do plants wilt when they don’t get enough water?

Answer 3

1. Water moves in/out of plant cells through the cell wall and membrane
2. When the cell vacuole is full of liquid, water pressure pushes against the cell wall and the cell is turgid; this is called turgor pressure
3. The cell wall is inelastic so it supports the cell and the plant
4. The plant needs the inelasticity of the cell walls and water for support
5. When the vacuole does not contain enough water because the plant is losing more water than it is taking in, there is not enough turgor pressure and the cell is flaccid; the plant begins to wilt
6. If a plant loses so much water that the membrane comes away from the cell wall the cell is plasmolysed

Question 4

In terms of osmosis, what is one important difference between animal and plant cells?

Answer 4

Plant cells have a cell wall, animals do not

Question 5

Check osmosis sheet in folder for more