Plant cells are protected from bursting due to a rigid cell wall that provides support and counteracts the effects of osmosis.
Plant cells, like all cells, can gain water through osmosis. Osmosis is the movement of water from an area of high concentration to an area of low concentration across a semi-permeable membrane. If a plant cell is in a hypotonic environment (an environment where the concentration of solutes is lower outside the cell than inside the cell), water will move into the cell. Without a protective mechanism, this influx of water could cause the cell to swell and potentially burst.
Here's how the plant cell's structure prevents this:
- Cell Wall: According to provided reference(s), plant cells have a cell wall on the outside of the cell membrane. The primary function of this cell wall is to provide support to the cell. More importantly, it prevents the cell from bursting when it gains water by osmosis.
Therefore, the cell wall provides the necessary structural integrity to withstand the turgor pressure (the pressure exerted by the water inside the cell against the cell wall), preventing the plant cell from bursting.
