A cell that is placed in salty seawater will                   . a. take sodium and chloride ions in by diffusion; b. move water out of the cell by active transport; c. use facilitated diffusion to break apart the sodium and chloride ions; d. lose water to the outside of the cell via osmosis

Verified step by step guidance

1. Identify the key terms in the problem: osmosis, diffusion, active transport, and facilitated diffusion.
2. Understand the concept of osmosis, which is the movement of water across a semipermeable membrane from an area of lower solute concentration to an area of higher solute concentration.
3. Recognize that salty seawater has a higher concentration of solutes (sodium and chloride ions) compared to the inside of a typical cell.
4. Analyze the effect of the environment on the cell: water inside the cell will move out to balance the solute concentrations on both sides of the cell membrane.
5. Conclude that the correct answer involves the movement of water due to osmosis, not the movement of ions or active transport of water.