Fruit ripening on a tree increases in sugar content and perc

Fruit ripening on a tree increases in sugar content and percent water weight over time. Using the terms hypotonic and hypertonic, explain why the fruit gains weight as sugar content increases.

not sure why isnt sugar water hypertonic?

Solution

During fruit ripening, the sugar content increases due to breakdown of polysaccharides such as starch and pectin into sucrose, fructose and glucose. Therefore, the dissolved sugar content in the fruit increases. The fruit goes from being isotonic (no net water movement, same concentration of dissolved sugars) to being hypertonic ( higher concentration of solute) with respect to the plant. The net movement of water is thus into the fruit, causing the size and weight of the fruit to increase.

Hypertonic and hypotonic are relative terms based on which solution is being considered. When the fruit is considered, the hypertonic solution is the fruit and the plant is hypotonic.