Log out Go to App
Go to App

Learning Materials

Features

Discover

Chapter 12: Problem 85

A cucumber placed in concentrated brine (salt wa- ter) shrivels into a pickle. Explain.

Short Answer

Expert verified
The cucumber shrivels because of the process of osmosis. The cucumber, having a lower solute concentration, loses water molecules to the concentrated brine solution, which has a higher solute concentration. This movement of water from the cucumber causes it to 'shrivel' up.

Step by step solution

01

Identify the Regions

Before explaining, it's important to identify the region of lower and higher solute concentration. In this case, the cucumber is the region with lower solute concentration because it is mostly composed of water, and the brine solution is the region with higher solute concentration because it is a concentrated solution of salt in water.
02

Describe the Osmosis Process

Now, according to the concept of osmosis, water molecules tend to move from the region of lower solute concentration to the region of higher solute concentration to achieve equilibrium. This means water from cucumber will move towards the saltwater in an attempt to dilute the salt.
03

Explain the Shrinking of Cucumber

As water moves out of the cucumber and into the brine solution, the water content of the cucumber lowers and it starts to shrink or 'shrivel'. This process continues until the concentration of water inside the cucumber and in the brine solution gets equal.

Unlock Step-by-Step Solutions & Ace Your Exams!

  • Full Textbook Solutions

    Get detailed explanations and key concepts

  • Unlimited Al creation

    Al flashcards, explanations, exams and more...

  • Ads-free access

    To over 500 millions flashcards

  • Money-back guarantee

    We refund you if you fail your exam.

Start your free trial

Over 30 million students worldwide already upgrade their learning with Vaia!

One App. One Place for Learning.

All the tools & learning materials you need for study success - in one app.

Get started for free

Most popular questions from this chapter

The osmotic pressure of \(0.010 \mathrm{M}\) solutions of \(\mathrm{CaCl}_{2}\) and urea at \(25^{\circ} \mathrm{C}\) are 0.605 atm and 0.245 atm, respectively. Calculate the van't Hoff factor for the \(\mathrm{CaCl}_{2}\) solution.

Calculate the molarity and the molality of an \(\mathrm{NH}_{3}\) solution made up of \(30.0 \mathrm{~g}\) of \(\mathrm{NH}_{3}\) in \(70.0 \mathrm{~g}\) of water. The density of the solution is \(0.982 \mathrm{~g} / \mathrm{mL}\).

The molar mass of benzoic acid ( \(\mathrm{C}_{6} \mathrm{H}_{5} \mathrm{COOH}\) ) determined by measuring the freezing-point depression in benzene is twice what we would expect for the molecular formula, \(\mathrm{C}_{7} \mathrm{H}_{6} \mathrm{O}_{2}\). Explain this apparent anomaly.

A beaker of water is initially saturated with dissolved air. Explain what happens when He gas at 1 atm is bubbled through the solution for a long time.

What is thermal pollution? Why is it harmful to aquatic life?
See all solutions

Recommended explanations on Chemistry Textbooks

Organic Chemistry

Read Explanation

The Earths Atmosphere

Read Explanation

Inorganic Chemistry

Read Explanation

Making Measurements

Read Explanation

Chemical Analysis

Read Explanation

Physical Chemistry

Read Explanation
View all explanations

What do you think about this solution?

We value your feedback to improve our textbook solutions.

Study anywhere. Anytime. Across all devices.

Sign-up for free