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– Nelson Mandela

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Exam 2 Part 2

Exam 2 Part 2

Q Please describe how plant and animal cells behave in hyper- iso- and hypotonic solutions, and why this is the case. Please be sure to use and define the terms that describe the behavior of these cell types in each type of solution.

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If a plant cell is kept inside a hypotonic solution, water will move inside the cell from the less concentrated hypotonic solution and as a result, the cell will swell. In the cell is placed in isotonic solution no movement of water will occur due to same concentration of inside and outside the cell. So, the cell will remain intact. If the cell is placed in hypertonic solution, water will leave the cell towards the highly concentrated hypertonic solution and as a result, the cell will shrink. In case of animal cells, the above mentioned same incidents will happen. Only in case of animal cells, if they are placed in hypotonic solution, the cell will swell and can burst as well. This incident of "bursting of cell" is known as lysis.