A gummy bear consists of 70% solute and 30% water. The candy is placed into
distilled water which contains 0% solute. Determine the water movement and the
tonicity of the distilled water.

Question

Vocaloid · Answer

Recall that water will move from areas of higher solute concentration to lower concentration. Comparing between the gummy bear and the water, which one has lower solute concentration? That will determine the direction of water movement.

For tonicity, does the water have higher solute concentration than the bear? If so it’s hypertonic. If the water is lower in solute concentration, it’s hypotonic. If equal, it’s isotonic. So with that in mind, which of the three terms best applies to the water?