question_answer 50)

  Why does the skin of your finger shrink when you wash clothes for a long time?

Answer:

  Soap solution is a hypertonic solution i.e., more concentrate than our skin cells. As we know, when the cell is immersed in a hypertonic solution, water diffuse out of the cells by osmosis (diffusion of water across semi permeable membrane), due to lower concentration of water outside the ceil. As a result, the cell shrinks. The process is called exosmosis. During washing of clothes, exosmosis takes place in the skin cells. This leads to shrinkage of skin over the fingers while washing clothes for a long time.