Red blood cell in distilled water. - (Feb/27/2006 )
Hello everyone, I am a new memeber to this forum, I am currently in a grade 11 University level biology class, and using the Nelson Biology 11 book. I came across a question in my Chapter 2 review which is asking: "11. A red blood cell is placed in distilled water and examined under a microscope. Describe and explain the changes in the shape of the red blood cell?"
Thank you very much for your assistance.
Thank you very much for your assistance.
Can i ask what you think the answer is?
Because i think you may be either:
1, Terribly lazy. This is not too likely. You've asked politely and taken the time to create an account. I'm sure you would have Googled for the answer first.
or
2, You actually know the answer and are just seeking confirmation. My money is on this one. As you're doing a university level course, you'd know to do the background research before asking for a quick and easy answer. You'd also know (because you seem quite smart) that any quick, one word answer you get on a web-forum wouldn't be terribly trustworthy. If I were to say "dehydration", you wouldn't know if I were actually right or just kidding with you.
So, what do you think the reason behind the change of shape is? I'd be interested to know what you think.
Cheers,
B3ka.
google ay help you if you type "osmotic regulations" or sthg related 
You are not kind, you could try to answer.
If you put a red blood cell in water, ... nothing will happen. 
you need soap to wash the bloody cell, to get a nice white blood cell 
of course I'm kidding you!
and try this link and this one
gamblerxix, have you done the experiment? or have you done a google image search with some related terms to see what it looks like? I think you can see the effect and therefore get an idea as to the cause if you see it...it's quite a striking effect, and I remember being pretty horrified the first time I saw an RBC that looked like that, just sure it was some sort of disease; had to get the old brain cranking over to figure it out....
I do appreciate that you asked very politely, but I bet you are halfway to the answer already, being such a precocious youth. perhaps tell us what you have done to find the answer and we can meet in the middle somewhere?