Question

question 1 - 4
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 a hypertonic solution, water moves from an area of lower solute concentration (inside the cell) to an area of higher solute concentration (the hypertonic solution) due to osmosis. This causes the cell to shrink.

Answer:

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