Question

When put into distilled water, a red blood cell will: *
1.Inflate until it pops
2.Stay the same
3.Shrink
4.Doubles in size and stays that way

Answer 1

Answer:  1. Inflate until it pops

Explanation: Distilled water is a hypotonic solution.

In a hypotonic solution, the concentration of solute (water, in this case) is more in the surrounding medium than in water. So water will rush into the cell in an attempt to reach equilibrium (the concentration of water in the surrounding medium would be equal to the concentration of water in the cell). This attempt to reach equilibrium may result in the cell inflating or increasing in size until it pops or bursts.