a.

The component of water potential that is due to the presence

of solute molecules. It always has a negative value as solutes lower the
water potential of the system.; Solute potential (Ψs), also called osmotic
potential, is negative in a plant cell and zero in Typical values for cell cytoplasm
are –0.5 to –1.0 MPa. Solutes reduce water potential (resulting in a negative Ψw)
by consuming some of the potential energy available in the water.

b. First is solutes, the dissolved components of water. Pure water has

no solutes, so the osmotic potential is zero, with no negative effect on
total water potential. However, the more solutes you add, the more this
changes. Adding solutes to water decreases the total potential by
decreasing osmotic potential.

c. In turgid plant cells it usually has a positive value as the entry of water causes
the protoplast to push against the cell wall (see turgor). In xylem cells there is
anegative pressure potential, or tension, as a result of transpiration. Water at
atmospheric pressure has a pressure potential of zero

d. Supercooling is when a substance is temporarily cooled below its freezing point

without becoming a solid. This occurs when heat is removed from a liquid so
rapidly that the molecules do not have enough time to align themselves in the
ordered structure of a solid.; he effect of adding a solute to a solvent has the
opposite effect on the freezing point of a solution as it does on the boiling
point. A solution will have a lower freezing point than a pure solvent.
The freezing point is the temperature at which the liquid changes to a solid

e. Higher if it is more watery. A solution will have a lower and

hence more negative water potential than that of pure water. Furthermore,
the more solute molecules present, the more negative the solute potential is.