kap section test: do you know your osmosis

[SaintJude]

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51.) Marine and freshwater fish have different problems in maintaining their internal salt and water balances. Osmosis causes freshwater fish to gain water and marine fish to lose water. Based on this information, which of the following must be true?


Marine fish live in an environment hypertonic to their body fluids.


Marine fish live in an environment hypotonic to their body fluids.


Freshwater fish live in an environment hypertonic to their body fluids.


Freshwater fish live in an environment isotonic to their body fluids.

 

[gettheleadout]

Marine fish live in an environment hypertonic to their body fluids.

Hypertonic = higher concentration of solute, meaning that water would flow outward from the fish to increase the body fluid solute concentration.

 

[SaintJude]

Ah, yes, right. Thanks.

 

[Dasypus]

If it helps, my high school bio teacher gave me a pretty good way of remembering this.

A cell put into a hypotonic environment will bring on water and swell up like the letter o.
A cell put into a hypertonic environment will lose water and shrivel up like the little hole in the e.