Hypotonic - GCSE Biology Definition
Reviewed by: Cara Head
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What is hypotonic?
In GCSE biology a hypotonic solution is one with a lower concentration of solutes than another solution. It can also be described as being more dilute, having a higher water concentration, or as having a higher water potential.
Water will move by osmosis out of a hypotonic solution into a hypertonic solution. This occurs when a cell is placed into a highly concentrated sugar solution; the cell cytoplasm has a higher water concentration and so is hypotonic to the surrounding sugar solution, meaning that water will move out of the cell by osmosis.
Hypotonic revision resources to ace your exams
You can learn more about hypotonic solutions in our GCSE biology osmosis revision notes:
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