Question

1. a blood cell placed in di water swells and lyses because the cell is placed in a(n) ______ solution and water is entering the cell.

a. hypertonic
b. hypotonic
c. isotonic

Explanation:

A hypotonic solution has a lower solute concentration than the inside of the cell. Distilled (DI) water has no dissolved solutes, so it is hypotonic relative to the cytoplasm of a blood cell. Water moves into the cell via osmosis, causing it to swell and lyse. A hypertonic solution would draw water out of the cell, and an isotonic solution would have no net water movement.

Answer:

B. hypotonic