High School

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A SimCell with a water-permeable membrane contains 50 dextrose molecules, 25 glucose molecules, 25 hemoglobin molecules, and 900 water molecules. It is placed in an extracellular fluid with a solute-to-solvent ratio of 1:15. Which of the following should happen?

1. More water molecules will flow from the SimCell into the extracellular fluid than from the extracellular fluid into the SimCell.
2. More water molecules will flow from the extracellular fluid into the SimCell than from the SimCell into the extracellular fluid.
3. There will be no movement of water molecules across the membrane.

Answer :

To answer this question, we need to consider the concepts of osmosis and how solute and solvent concentrations affect the movement of water across a semi-permeable membrane.

The SimCell and the extracellular fluid both have different solute-to-solvent ratios. In order to determine which way the water will flow, we must compare these concentrations:

Inside the SimCell:

  • Total solute molecules: 50 (dextrose) + 25 (glucose) + 25 (hemoglobin) = 100 molecules.
  • Total water molecules: 900 molecules.
  • Solute-to-solvent ratio: [tex]\frac{100}{900} = \frac{1}{9}[/tex] or approximately 1:9.

In the extracellular fluid:

  • Solute-to-solvent ratio: 1:15.

Osmosis is the process by which water moves across a semi-permeable membrane from an area of low solute concentration to an area of high solute concentration. In this context, it means that water will flow from the area with a lower solute-to-solvent ratio to the area with a higher solute-to-solvent ratio.

Comparing the solute-to-solvent ratios:

  1. The SimCell has a higher solute-to-solvent ratio (1:9) compared to the extracellular fluid (1:15).
  2. This indicates that the SimCell is more concentrated in terms of solute compared to the extracellular fluid.
  3. Therefore, water will move from the extracellular fluid (less concentrated in solute) into the SimCell (more concentrated in solute) to try to equalize the concentration on both sides of the membrane.

Therefore, the correct answer is option 2: More water molecules will flow from the extracellular fluid into the SimCell than from the SimCell into the extracellular fluid.

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