Question

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a scientist grew an elodea plant in a freshwater aquarium. she removed a leaf from the plant and placed the leaf in a hypertonic solution containing 8% salt in order to observe what happened to the cells within the leaf. when she looked at the cells under a microscope, she noticed that the cells in the leaf shrunk. which statement best explains what caused the cells to shrink?
the salt moved from the hypertonic solution into the cell and chemically bonded with the water.
the hypertonic solution caused the water in the cell to move from the cytoplasm into the nucleus.
the salt within the cell moved through the cell membrane into the solution with the higher salt concentration.
the water within the cell moved through the cell membrane into the solution with the lower water concentration.

Explanation:

In osmosis, water moves from an area of higher water - concentration (inside the cell in this case) to an area of lower water - concentration (the hypertonic solution). Salt does not chemically bond with water in this context, water does not move from cytoplasm to nucleus, and salt does not move from cell to solution in the way described. The key is water movement due to the concentration gradient.

Answer:

The water within the cell moved through the cell membrane into the solution with the lower water concentration.