Correct answer: (c) Osmosis
Explanation
- A
Active transport
Active transport moves solutes against a gradient using metabolic energy (ATP). Water leaving salted cucumber slices is not an ATP-driven pump of water. Calling it active transport mislabels a passive water movement.
- B
Passive transport
Passive transport is a broad class (diffusion, facilitated diffusion, osmosis) without ATP. The question asks the specific process when salt draws water from cucumber cells. Osmosis is the precise name; ‘passive transport’ is too generic for this key.
- C
Osmosis
(c) Official key: Salt outside the cut cucumber raises external solute concentration, so water moves out of cells across membranes from higher water potential to lower — osmosis. That is why slices weep liquid. Among active transport, passive transport, osmosis and diffusion, the keyed process is osmosis.
- D
Diffusion
Diffusion is net movement of a substance down its own concentration gradient. Water movement through a selectively permeable membrane under a solute gradient is specially termed osmosis. Diffusion is related but not the keyed name here.
Summary. Official key is (c). Adding salt to cut cucumber creates a hypertonic exterior; water leaves the tissue by osmosis. Active transport would need energy and is the wrong class; ‘passive transport’ and ‘diffusion’ are related but not the specific textbook name. The process to mark is osmosis.