plasmolysis
A cell that does not have a rigid cell wall such as a red blood cell , will swell and lyse burst when placed in a hypotonic solution. Cells with a cell wall will swell when placed in a hypotonic solution, but once the cell is turgid firm , the tough cell wall prevents any more water from entering the cell. When placed in a hypertonic solution, a cell without a cell wall will lose water to the environment, shrivel, and probably die. In a hypertonic solution, a cell with a cell wall will lose water too. The plasma membrane pulls away from the cell wall as it shrivels, a process called plasmolysis. Animal cells tend to do best in an isotonic environment, plant cells tend to do best in a hypotonic environment. This is demonstrated in Figure below .