B1.8

• Plants rely on osmosis to support leaves and stems
• Water moves in via osmosis = vacuole swells = pressure cytoplasm against cell wall = turgor (no more water can physically enter)
• Plants always need surrounding fluid to be hypotonic to cytoplasm.
• If surrounding fluid is hypertonic = water leaves cell = leaves soften and are flaccid = wilt
• If more water lost in flaccid state= vacuole and cytoplasm shrink = membrane pulls away = plasmolysis