Answer
Tonicity is a capacity of a solution to alter the volume of the cytosol of a healthy cell across a semipermeable barrier or membrane. An isotonic solution will not change the volume of a healthy mammalian cell. An hypotonic solution will cause it to swell, and a hypertonic solution will cause it to shrink.
Work Step by Step
If a student prepares a solution of sodium chloride(NaCl), that had 900 mg of NaCl per 100 mls of solution , he would have a 0.9% 0f NaCl. If the student then prepares another solution, Solution B, with 3.0 grams of NaCl per 100 mls of solution, this second solution would be a 3% solution of NaCl. Chemically, solution B would be considered to be more concentrated than Solution A with respect to the solute. If the student finally made Solution C with a concentration of 10 mg of NaCl in 100 mls of solution, then this solution would have the lowest concentration of solute but the highest concentration of water.Tonicity is the capacity of solutions to alter the volume of a cell across a semipermeable layer. If a healthy human erythrocyte was placed in a volume of Solution A, the volume of the red blood cell would not change perceptibly, because the concentrations of water and NaCl on either side of the barrier between cytosol and NaCl solution would be the same . If , however, a healthy RBC was placed in Solution B, the cytosol would lose water to the 3% NaCl solution and the RBC would shrink or crenate. Conversely, if a healthy RBC was placed in a volume of Solution C, the
RBC would take in water from the dilute (0.01%) Nacl solution and would swell and probably burst. In describing the interaction between cell and solutions , Physiologists would would say:
1. Solution A is isotonic to the RBC cytosol
2. Solution B is hypertonic to RBC cytosol
3. Solution C is hypotonic to RBC cytosol
