2.13b osmosis in animal cells

1. Osmosis-movement of water from a dilute solution to a concentrated solution.
2. 3 potential scenarios for an animal cell
3. the animal cell finds itself in a dilute solution- this is known as hypotonic- in this case the water will move into the cell. This causes the volume of the cell to increase. However, the cell cannot handle a volume so large or else the cell membrane will burst. This condition is known as lysis.
4. the animal cell finds itself in a solution where the cytoplasm is equal to external solution- this is known as isotonic. In this case, the amount of water going into the cell is equal to the volume going out of the cell therefore the volume remains constant.
5. The animal cell finds itself in a solution which is more concentrated than the cytoplasm.- this is known as hypertonic.- In this case, the water will leave the cell, to the external solution. The volume will decrease. This causes the cell to shrink. This condition is called crinilation.
6. Human cells are isotonic because the volume within their cells remain constant. This is achieved by an organ called the kidney which is present in multi cellular organisms such as humans.