Question

scenario 9:
you notice after sprinkling
strawberries with sugar, the
strawberries look wet.
q1. tonicity of the solution?
q2. how do the cells respond?
q3. what question could you ask
to confirm?

Explanation:

Q1

When sugar is sprinkled on strawberries, the sugar solution outside the strawberry cells has a higher solute (sugar) concentration than the inside of the cells. A hypertonic solution has a higher solute concentration relative to another solution (here, the cell's interior). So the tonicity of the sugar solution is hypertonic.

In a hypertonic environment (higher solute outside), water moves out of the cells (strawberry cells) via osmosis (from an area of lower solute concentration, i.e., inside the cell, to higher solute concentration, i.e., outside the cell). When water leaves the cells, the cells will undergo plasmolysis (shrinkage of the protoplast away from the cell wall) or simply lose water and appear to make the strawberries look wet as the water accumulates outside the cells.

To confirm the osmosis - related water movement, we can ask a question that tests the direction of water movement or the change in cell structure. For example, asking about what happens if we place the strawberries in pure water (hypotonic solution) to see if water moves back into the cells (indicating that the initial sugar solution was hypertonic and water moved out, and now in hypotonic, water moves in). Or we can ask about the change in the mass of the strawberries (if they lose mass, it indicates water loss) or the change in the concentration of the sugar solution over time (if water moves out, the sugar solution's concentration should decrease as it gains water from the cells). A possible question: "What happens to the strawberries if we place them in distilled water? Will they become less 'wet' or re - hydrate?" or "Does the mass of the strawberries decrease after sprinkling with sugar (due to water loss)?"

Answer:

The solution (sugar - strawberry system's external solution) is hypertonic.

Q2