Suppose you have two glucose solutions separated by a selectively permeable membrane. If there is a concentration gradient of glucose across the membrane, then one of the solutions cannot be:

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

If there is a concentration gradient of glucose across the membrane, then one solution has a higher concentration of glucose than the other. An isotonic solution has the same concentration of solutes (in this case, glucose) as the other solution, so it cannot have a concentration gradient. The only possible solutions for the higher glucose concentration are hypertonic, meaning there is a higher solute concentration, or hypotonic meaning there is a lower solute concentration. Therefore, the answer is B, isotonic.

Suppose You Have Two Glucose Solutions Separated by a Selectively