Which solutions are hypertonic

Practice: Mechanisms of transport: tonicity and osmoregulation. Next lesson. Current timeTotal duration Google Classroom Facebook Twitter. Video transcript - [Voiceover] I have three different scenarios here of a cell being immersed in a solution, and the cell is this magenta circle, that's the cellular membrane.

I have the water molecules depicted by these blue circles, and then, I have the solute inside of the solution, inside of the water solution that we depict with these yellow circles. I've clearly exaggerated the size of the water molecules and the solute particles relative to the size of the cell, but I did that so that we can visualize what's actually going on. We're going to assume that the cellular membrane, this phospholipid bilayer, is semipermeable, that it will allow water molecules to pass in and out, so a water molecule could go from the inside to the outside, or from the outside to the inside, but we're gonna assume that it does not allow the passage of the solute particles, so that's why it's semipermeable.

It's permeable to certain things, or we could say, selectively permeable. Now, what do we think is going to happen? Well, the first thing that you might observe is we have a lower concentration of solute on the outside than we have on the inside, so at any given moment of time, you will have some water molecules moving in just the right direction to go from the outside to the inside, and you will also have some water molecules that might be in just the right place to go from the inside to the outside, but what's more likely to happen, and what's going to happen more over a certain period of time?

The water molecules that are on the outside, and we talk about this in the osmosis video, they're going to be less obstructed by solute particles. If this one happens to be moving in that direction, well, it's gonna make its way to the membrane, and then, maybe get through the membrane, while something, maybe, if this water molecule was moving in this direction, well, gee, it's gonna be obstructed now, maybe this is bouncing back, and it's gonna ricochet off of it, so the water molecules on the inside are more obstructed.

They're less likely to be able to fully interact with the membrane or move in the right direction. They're being obstructed by these solute particles. Even though you're going to have water molecules going back and forth, in a given period of time, you have a higher probability of more going in, than going out, so you're going to have a net inflow. Net inflow of H2O, of water molecules.

Now, a situation like this, where we're talking about a cell and it's in a solution that has a lower concentration of solute, it's important that we're talking about a solute that is not allowed to go to the membrane, the membrane is not permeable to that solute. We call this type of situation, this type of solution that the cell is immersed in, we call this a hypotonic solution.

In addition, it is prefered to give hypertonic solutions via a central line due to the hypertonic solution being vesicant on the veins and the risk of infiltration. Disclosure and Privacy Policy This website provides entertainment value only, not medical advice or nursing protocols. By accessing any content on this site or its related media channels, you agree never to hold us liable for damages, harm, loss, or misinformation.

See our full disclosure and privacy policy. Copyright Notice: Do not copy this site, articles, images, or its contents without permission. Important Links Advertise Contact Us. What you would expect to happen is that sodium and potassium ions would cross the membrane until equilibrium is reached, with both sides of the partition containing 1 mole of sodium ions, 1 mole of potassium ions, and 2 moles of chlorine ions.

Got it? Water moves across a semipermeable membrane. Remember, water moves to equalize the concentration of solute particles. If the solutions on either side of the membrane are isotonic, water moves freely back and forth. Water moves from the hypotonic less concentrated side of a membrane to the hypertonic less concentrated side. The direction of the flow continues until the solutions are isotonic. Actively scan device characteristics for identification.

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