Question

An unripe mango placed in a concentrated salt solution to prepare pickle shrivels because-
A.It gains water due to osmosis
B.It loses water due to reverse osmosis
C.It gains water due to reverse osmosis
D.It loses water due to osmosis

Answer 1

We need to understand the phenomenon that takes place when an unripe mango is placed in a concentration salt solution. As it is clear that some kind of osmosis definitely takes place. Osmosis is a process in which solvent molecules prefer to flow across a semipermeable barrier from a less concentrated solution to a more concentrated one. The shriveling of the mango in salt solution is to be studied as to why it takes place.

Complete answer:
The term shriveling means to wrinkle and contract or cause to wrinkle and contract, especially due to loss of moisture. Osmosis is the movement of water molecules through a selectively permeable membrane from a higher concentration area to a lower concentration area. A cell lacking a cell wall will lose water to the environment, shrivel, and most likely die when put in a hypertonic solution. At the cellular level, hypertonicity may refer to a characteristic of a solution that has a higher solute concentration than another solution.
Hence, an unripe mango placed in a concentrated salt solution to prepare pickle shrivels because it loses water due to osmosis. The concentrated salt solution is the hypertonic solution.

Therefore, the correct option is option D.

Note:
It must be noted that a hypertonic solution is one that has a greater solute concentration or a lower water content than another solution. A solution is said to be hypotonic if it has a lower solute concentration or a higher water content than another. When two solutions have the same solute and water content, they are said to be isotonic.