The following sections of this BookRags Literature Study Guide is offprint from Gale's For Students Series: Presenting Analysis, Context, and Criticism on Commonly Studied Works: Introduction, Author Biography, Plot Summary, Characters, Themes, Style, Historical Context, Critical Overview, Criticism and Critical Essays, Media Adaptations, Topics for Further Study, Compare & Contrast, What Do I Read Next?, For Further Study, and Sources.
(c)1998-2002; (c)2002 by Gale. Gale is an imprint of The Gale Group, Inc., a division of Thomson Learning, Inc. Gale and Design and Thomson Learning are trademarks used herein under license.
The following sections, if they exist, are offprint from Beacham's Encyclopedia of Popular Fiction: "Social Concerns", "Thematic Overview", "Techniques", "Literary Precedents", "Key Questions", "Related Titles", "Adaptations", "Related Web Sites". (c)1994-2005, by Walton Beacham.
The following sections, if they exist, are offprint from Beacham's Guide to Literature for Young Adults: "About the Author", "Overview", "Setting", "Literary Qualities", "Social Sensitivity", "Topics for Discussion", "Ideas for Reports and Papers". (c)1994-2005, by Walton Beacham.
All other sections in this Literature Study Guide are owned and copyrighted by BookRags, Inc.
A solution is hypertonic if it tends to gain water from a reference solution (or colloidal suspension) separated from it by a semipermeable membrane. This usually results from of a higher concentration of dissolved or dispersed substances in the hypertonic solution. It is assumed that the membrane is freely permeable to the solute (usually water) but impermeable, or nearly so, to substances in solution or suspension in the two liquids. When a living cell is immersed in a hypertonic solution, the cell will lose water to the solution. It may collapse if it is an animal cell, or plasmolyze by pulling away from the cell wall if it is a plant cell. However, as water flows out of the cell it dilutes the hypertonic solution, and causes the concentration of cellular protoplasm to increase. The ultimate result depends largely on the difference in solute concentration between the cell and the bathing liquid. When differences are small, equilibrium may be reached that does not damage the cell, but when large, harm is more apt to occur.