A cell is bathed in fluid. However, you see that water is flowing into the cell, what solution is this cell submerged in? Is it hypertonic, hypotonic, or isotonic?

Answer 1

Hi!

It helps to look at the meanings of the words.

hyper- means above normal, or high ( hypertension is high blood pressure)

hypo- below normal, less ( hypodermic needles go below the skin)

iso- the same, equal ( isomers are compounds with the same chemical formula- but different arrangements)

Or in your case-

Isotonic: The solutions being compared have equal concentration of solutes.

Hypertonic: The solution with the higher concentration of solutes.

Hypotonic: The solution with the lower concentration of solutes.

Now that we now this, we can apply what we already know about osmosis. We know fluid will go from an area of lower solute concentration ( in this case, water) to an area of higher of solute concentration until they are equal.

Hypertonic

High concentration inside the cell- water will flow out

Isotonic

Equal concentrations within and out of the cell- water will flow in and out of the cell equally

Hypotonic

Low concentration inside the cell- water will flow into the cell.

Which matches the situation in your problem?