When a healthy plant cell with normal turgor pressure is placed into a hypertonic sucrose solution, which of the following events directly occurs as water moves across the cell membrane?
- A) Water exits the cell down its concentration gradient, causing the plasma membrane to pull away from the cell wall in a process called plasmolysis.
- B) Water continuously enters the cell until excessive internal osmotic pressure causes the rigid cell wall to rupture and lyse.
- C) Sucrose molecules rapidly diffuse into the central vacuole down their gradient, maintaining cell volume without any net movement of water.
- D) Aquaporins close completely to prevent any water flow, locking the protoplast firmly against the cell wall in a state of permanent turgidity.
