Which would have higher water potential distilled water od red blood cell?
Distilled water would have a higher water potential than a red blood cell because the formula for obtaining water potential is -iCRT, where i=ionization constant, C=molar concentration, R=pressure constant–usually 0.0831 liter bars/mole K, and T=temperature in Kelvins. Since distilled has a molar concentration of 0, the water potential would be 0. And a red blood cell would have a negative water potential because it does have some sort of molar concentration. Thus, distilled water would have a higher water potential because 0 is greater than a negative number. As a note, water always flows from areas of higher water potential to areas of lower water potential. Therefore, it is easy to imagine that water flows toward more concentrated solutions, meaning it would flow to the red blood cell. If distilled water flows to the red blood cell, then it must have a higher water potential than the red blood cell.
