Question

You are observing the reaction of a plant cell to a salt water solution using a compound light microscope. After a few minutes, you notice that the cytoplasm and cellular contents seem to be shrinking inward away from the cell wall in a manner like that shown below. Which of the following processes is occurring in the plant cell?  A. osmosis B.passive transport C. turgor pressure D.plasmolysis 

Answer 1

This process is known as D. plasmolysis
Plasmolysis occurs when a cell is placed in a hypertonic solution. The osmotic potential is higher within the cell than in the surrounding solution, which results in water moving out of the cell. This causes reduction in volume of the cells, but plant cells tend to retain their outer shape due to their rigid cell walls.