Question

a student places a red blood cell in a solution and notices that the cell swells and may eventually burst. what type of solution is the red blood cell placed in? hypertonic solution - water leaves the cell isotonic solution - water moves in and out equally salt solution - water and solutes leave the cell hypotonic solution - water enters the cell

Explanation:

To determine the solution type, we analyze osmosis:

• Hypertonic: Water leaves (cell shrinks), not matching.
• Isotonic: Water moves equally (cell stays same), not matching.
• Salt solution (hypertonic-like): Water/solutes leave, not matching.
• Hypotonic: Solution has lower solute than cell, so water enters, causing swelling/bursting. This matches the observation.

Answer:

D. Hypotonic solution – water enters the cell