Might reverse osmosis be used to obtain fresh water from a sugar-water solution?
A) No, osmosis and reverse osmosis only apply to aqueous solutions containing ions.
B) Yes, reverse osmosis can be applied to any aqueous solution for the generation of fresh water.
C) No, the molecular attractions between sugar and water are too strong.
D) Yes, because sugar molecules are smaller than sodium or chloride ions.
Question 2
Cells at the top of a tree have a higher concentration of sugars than cells at the bottom. How might this fact assist a tree in moving water upward from its roots?
A) Cells with high concentrations of sugar are more dense. As these cells migrate downwards, cells containing fresh water are able to migrate upwards.
B) Water is pushed upwards by osmostic pressure.
C) It doesn't. In fact, water makes it to the top of a tree because that is where the water molecules are being evaporated.
D) Fresh water is drawn upwards to the sugar containing cells by way of dipole-dipole molecular interactions.
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