What is a hypotonic solution?

What is a hypotonic solution?

• A. Dilute solution
• B. Concentrated solution
• C. Hypertonic solution
• D. Isosmotic solution

Answer: (A)

Water movement across cell membranes is governed by tonicity, which compares a solution’s effective osmolality to the inside of cells. A hypotonic solution has lower solute concentration (lower osmolality) than the cell interior, so water enters the cell by osmosis, causing the cell to swell and potentially burst if excessive. Among the choices, a dilute solution best fits this definition because it implies lower solute concentration relative to the cell. A concentrated solution would be hypertonic (higher osmolality), an isosmotic solution has equal osmolality to the cells, and a hypertonic term describes higher, not lower, solute concentration.

Water movement across cell membranes is governed by tonicity, which compares a solution’s effective osmolality to the inside of cells. A hypotonic solution has lower solute concentration (lower osmolality) than the cell interior, so water enters the cell by osmosis, causing the cell to swell and potentially burst if excessive. Among the choices, a dilute solution best fits this definition because it implies lower solute concentration relative to the cell. A concentrated solution would be hypertonic (higher osmolality), an isosmotic solution has equal osmolality to the cells, and a hypertonic term describes higher, not lower, solute concentration.