OCR GCSE Biology 2026 – 400 Free Practice Questions to Pass the Exam

Question: 1 / 1090

What occurs when the water potential of the tissue fluid is higher than that inside a cell?

Water moves into the cell by osmosis

When the water potential of the tissue fluid is higher than that inside a cell, it indicates that the concentration of solutes outside the cell is lower than that inside the cell. This difference creates a potential for water molecules to move. Water moves from areas of higher water potential (where there are fewer solutes) to areas of lower water potential (where there are more solutes) by the process of osmosis.

As a result, water will move into the cell, causing it to swell. This movement continues until equilibrium is reached, where the water potential inside the cell becomes equal to that outside in the tissue fluid. If the influx of water is significant, it may lead to the cell bursting in some cases, but the key point is that water movement occurs into the cell due to the osmotic gradient.

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The cell will burst

Water moves out of the cell by osmosis

The cell will remain unchanged

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