Tonicity and Osmoregulation

AP Biology· difficulty 3/5

Percent change in mass for potato cylinders in sucrose solutions of varying molarity is shown below. The line crosses zero at the molarity where mass change is zero.

Sucrose (M) % Mass change 0 0.0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.5

Approximately what is the molar concentration of solutes inside the potato cells?

  • A

    About 0.5 M

  • B

    About 0.0 M

  • C

    Greater than 1.0 M

  • D

    About 0.2 M

    check_circle

Explanation

The line crosses zero (no net mass change) at about 0.2 M sucrose. At this concentration, the external solution is isotonic to the cytoplasm, so the cytoplasmic solute concentration is about 0.2 M.

Want 10 more like this — adaptive to your weak spots?

Related questions