The effects of hypotonic, hypertonic and isotonic

The effects of hypotonic, hypertonic and isotonic solution on animal and plant cells:

• Hypertonic- Concentration with higher solute concentration and less water concentration
• Hypotonic- lower solute concentration and more water concentration
• Isotonic- Solution in which water molecule and solute molecule are equal in concentration.

Animal and plant cell In an isotonic solution

• Isotonic solution is a solution in which the concentration of solutes is equal, so:- Water diffuses into
and out of the cell at equal rates.- There’s no net movement of water across the plasma membrane- The
cells retain their normal shape

Animal and plant cells in a hypotonic solution

• Solution which contain higher concentration of water and lower concentration of solutes is called as
hypotonic solution.
• Since the concentration of water is higher outside the cell, there is a net movement of water from
outside into the cell.
• Cell gains water, swells and the internal pressure increases. Eventually burst (haemolysis).

The effects of hypertonic solution in animal and plant cell

• Contain higher concentration of solutes and less of water than a cell.
• Since the concentration of water is higher within the cell, there is a net movement of water from
inside to outside of the cell. (water leaves the cell by osmosis)
• Causes the cell to shrink as its internal pressure decreases.

Hypertonic solution on plant cell

• Water diffuses out of the large central vacuole by osmosis. Water lose from both vacuole and
cytoplasm cause to shrink.
• Plasma membrane pulls away from the cell wall. (plasmolysis).
• Become flaccid and less turgid.
• Cell wall doesn’t shrink because it is strong and rigid.
• If plasmolysis continues, death may result.
• If we placed the plasmolysed plant cell in a hypotonic solution (pure water), water moves into the cell
by osmosis and become turgid again. (deplasmolysis)

Food preservation
• The concept of osmosis and diffusion are applied in the preservation of food, such as fruits, fish and
vegetables by using preservatives (salt, sugar/ vinegar)
• Salt solution of hypertonic to tissue of fish. So water leaves the fish tissue and enter the salt solution
by osmosis.
• Fish become dehydrated and cell crenate. Therefore, bacteria can’t grow in fish tissue and bacteria cell
will crenate.
• Preserved fish don’t decay so soon and last longer.
• Preservation with vinegar
• Mangoes are soaked in vinegar which has low pH, vinegar diffuses into the tissues of the mangoes and
become acidic.
• Low pH prevents the growth of microorganism in mangoes and preserved mangoes can last longer.