Bacteria cannot survive in a highly salted pickle because

Options

A. they don't get enough light for photosynthesis
B. salt inhibits reproduction of bacteria
C. bacteria get plasmolysed and killed
D. pickle does not contain nutrients for bacteria to live

Answer

To answer the question "Bacteria cannot survive in a highly salted pickle because," we can break it down into a step-by-step explanation:

### Step-by-Step Solution:

1. **Understanding Tonicity**:
- Tonicity refers to the ability of an extracellular solution to influence the movement of water into or out of a cell by osmosis. It is determined by the concentration of solutes in the solution compared to the concentration of solutes inside the cell.

2. **Identifying the Type of Solution**:
- A highly salted pickle has a high concentration of solutes (salt). This means that the pickle is a hypertonic solution relative to the bacteria.

3. **Effect of Hypertonic Solutions on Bacteria**:
- When bacteria are placed in a hypertonic solution, the concentration of solutes outside the cell is greater than that inside the cell. As a result, water moves out of the bacterial cell to balance the solute concentrations.

4. **Plasmolysis**:
- The process of water moving out of the bacterial cell leads to a phenomenon known as plasmolysis. During plasmolysis, the cell shrinks as it loses water, which can ultimately lead to cell death.

5. **Conclusion**:
- Therefore, bacteria cannot survive in a highly salted pickle because the hypertonic environment causes water to leave the bacterial cells, resulting in plasmolysis and ultimately killing the bacteria.

### Final Answer:
Bacteria cannot survive in a highly salted pickle because the high salt concentration creates a hypertonic environment, causing water to move out of the bacteria, leading to plasmolysis and cell death.

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