Question

To keep vegetables fresh, the vendors regularly sprinkle water on the vegetables in their baskets. Which phenomenon can be observed in the above case?
A) Endosmosis
B) Exosmosis
C) Endocytosis
D) Dehydration

Answer 1

The vegetables need water in order to stay fresh and intact. After being cut from the trees, they lose their water supply and suffer dehydration. Therefore, the vendor sprinkles water on the vegetables to keep them fresh.

Complete answer:
The phenomenon is endosmosis.
When the vendors cut the vegetables from the trees they lose the water supply provided to them through transportation. Therefore, they suffer dehydration. Every living cell needs water to carry out its functions and stay fresh. When the vendors sprinkle water on the vegetables, the cells take the water through endosmosis and that helps them to remain fresh for a long time.

Endosmosis is the phenomenon in which osmosis of water takes place from the outside of the cell towards the inside. This occurs in a hypotonic solution and causes the cell to swell.
The opposite of this is Exosmosis where osmosis of water takes place in the direction of inside to outside and occurs when the cell is put in a hypertonic solution. The cell becomes flaccid.

On the other hand, endocytosis is the phenomenon in which substances are brought inside the cell boundary with the help of a vesicle. It's of three different types of this- phagocytosis, pinocytosis, and receptor-mediated Endocytosis.
Dehydration is a well-known term that indicates loss of water which occurs when the entry of water is less than the loss of it. When the vegetables are cut from the tree, there's a high chance of them suffering dehydration. To prevent it, the vendor sprinkles water on it.

Hence, the correct answer is option (A).

Note: The plant cells store water inside their large vacuoles that helps them to maintain their shape and stay intact. When they lose water supply, they use this stored water for their cell functioning and hence loses its shape and shrinks. This indicates that vegetables are not fresh. To prevent this phenomenon from happening, the vendors supply the vegetables with water and the cells absorb it through endosmosis.