Question

what happens to a cell that has a rigid cell wall when placed in a hypotonic solution?
a its plasma membrane will pull away from the cell wall
b it will swell until the cell is turgid
c it will lose water to the environment, shrivel, and probably die

Explanation:

To solve this, we analyze each option:

• Option a: Plasma membrane pulling away from cell wall (plasmolysis) occurs in hypertonic solutions, not hypotonic. So a is incorrect.
• Option b: In a hypotonic solution, water moves into the cell (osmosis, since hypotonic has lower solute concentration outside, so water moves in). A cell with a rigid cell wall (like plant cells) will take in water, swell, and become turgid (the cell wall prevents bursting). This matches.
• Option c: Losing water and shriveling happens in hypertonic solutions (water moves out). In hypotonic, water moves in. So c is incorrect.

Answer:

b. It will swell until the cell is turgid