Question:
When a freshly collected Spirogyra filament is kept in a 10% potassium nitrate solution, it is observed that the protoplasm shrinks in size:
a. What is this phenomenon called?
b. What will happen if the filament is replaced in distilled water?
Solution:
a. This phenomenon is called exosmosis
b. If the filament is replaced in distilled water, then the protoplasm again becomes turgid as water flows in as the shrunken protoplasm swells up or gets deplasmolysed.