A normal plant cell holds water in the vacuole of the cell, which also provides support to the cell. Suppose a plant is submerged in salt water, causing the vacuoles to collapse and the leaves to wilt. This condition is called plasmolysis.
Which explanation best describes what happens to the cells of that plant during plasmolysis?
Answer (3)
Just use the theory of osmosis to explain how the water goes in and out.
Plasmolysis in plant cells occurs when a plant is submerged in salt water, causing water to leave the central vacuole and cytoplasm due to osmosis, leading to the cells becoming flaccid and plant wilting.
During plasmolysis, a plant cell submerged in salt water will experience water loss due to osmosis. As the central vacuole contains a high concentration of solutes, and because the salt water surrounding the plant has an even higher concentration of solutes than the vacuole, water moves out of the central vacuole and the cell's cytoplasm into the external salt water environment. This leads to the collapse of the vacuoles and the cell losing its turgor pressure, resulting in the cell and plant tissues becoming flaccid and wilting. The rigid cell wall remains in place, but without the support of the central vacuole, it doesn't prevent the wilted appearance of the plant.
In plasmolysis, plant cells lose water due to osmosis when placed in a hypertonic solution, such as salt water, causing their vacuoles to collapse and the cells to wilt. This results in diminished turgor pressure and a lack of structural support for the plant. The cell membrane detaches from the cell wall, leading to a flaccid appearance of the plant.
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