Question

1. as fish are frozen for storage, the water in the cells expands as it cools from 4°c to 0°c and may cause cells to burst. this lowers the quality of the fish. explain how soaking the fish briefly in salt water before freezing them might prevent this damage to the cells. 1

Explanation:

Soaking fish in salt water creates a hypertonic environment (higher solute concentration outside cells) compared to the fish cells' interior. By osmosis, water will move out of the fish cells into the salt water. When frozen, there is less water inside the cells to expand (as water expands when freezing from 4°C to 0°C), thus reducing the chance of cell bursting.

Answer:

Soaking fish in salt water creates a hypertonic solution outside cells. By osmosis, water exits fish cells (reducing internal water). Less water inside means less expansion on freezing, so cells are less likely to burst.