Answer to Question #158156 in Cell Biology for Chiara

Question

Explain why the potato in 0.0mol/dm^3 sugar solution increases in mass. (question about the effect of different concentrations of sugar solution on pieces of potato).

Answer 1

A solution with 0.0mol/dm³ of sugar is water.

When a plant tissue (in this case potato) is put in a water solution, due to a process called cytolysis, the plant cells of the potato gain water in a hypotonic solution. This is as a result of a lower external osmotic pressure and a net flow of water into the cell.