A plant cell is moved from pure water into a 0.5 M sucrose solution. Initial volume is 100 units. Over 30 minutes the cell shrinks slightly but its outer wall keeps a fixed shape. The central vacuole shrinks notably and pulls the membrane away from the wall.
The structure responsible for storing the water that leaves the cell is BEST identified as:
- A
The cell wall
- B
The nucleus
- Ccheck_circle
The large central vacuole
- D
The chloroplast stroma
Explanation
Plant central vacuoles store most of the cell's water and solutes; in hypertonic media, water exits the vacuole, causing plasmolysis as the membrane peels from the wall.