Which term describes the pressure exerted by the contents of a cell against the cell wall?

Which term describes the pressure exerted by the contents of a cell against the cell wall?

• A. Hydrostatic pressure
• B. Osmosis
• C. Turgor
• D. Plasmolysis

Answer: (C)

When plant cells take up water, their vacuole swells and pushes the cytoplasm outward against the cell wall. That outward force is called turgor pressure. It arises from water moving into the cell by osmosis, and it’s what keeps plant cells rigid and helps support the plant. Osmosis is the process that moves water into the cell, not the pressure itself. Plasmolysis describes what happens when a cell loses water and the membrane pulls away from the wall, reducing turgor. Hydrostatic pressure is a general term for pressure in a fluid, but the specific term for the pressure the cell contents exert on the wall is turgor pressure.

When plant cells take up water, their vacuole swells and pushes the cytoplasm outward against the cell wall. That outward force is called turgor pressure. It arises from water moving into the cell by osmosis, and it’s what keeps plant cells rigid and helps support the plant. Osmosis is the process that moves water into the cell, not the pressure itself. Plasmolysis describes what happens when a cell loses water and the membrane pulls away from the wall, reducing turgor. Hydrostatic pressure is a general term for pressure in a fluid, but the specific term for the pressure the cell contents exert on the wall is turgor pressure.