Question

Prompt: It is common knowledge that staying hydrated is beneficial and that electrolytes replenish the body after exercise. But did you know that it too much water or water containing the wrong substances can be harmful? Apply what you have learned about osmosis and diffusion in Hands On Lab: Cells and Membrane Transport to consider the following scenario:

You are stranded on a desert island. A boat will not be by this area again for 7 days so you need to make smart choices to survive. This sunny island, Puerto Golgi, with an average daily temperature of 95 degrees Fahrenheit, receives only a few inches of rain per year, so there is very little fresh water available for you to drink.

You have 3 options to choose from and you may only choose one:

1. Drinking all the freshwater from a midweek rainstorm in 1 hour before it evaporates (4 Liters).

2. Drink a small amount of saltwater each of the 7 days

3. Crack open the available coconuts to drink 2L of coconut water each day

Which option will you choose to survive until the boat arrives at the end of day 7 to find you and take you back to the mainland? Each option has beneficial and harmful aspects; there is no perfect choice available.

Through this 2 part discussion with your classmates, you will state your choice, explain how your choice would affect the blood and cells of the body using appropriate and sufficient evidence, and then respond to your classmates posts to convince them why that choice is the optimal one for survival. In other words, you need to know why your choice is the most optimal for the human body and why the other choices would not be.

Remember, no answer is one hundred percent correct so you are not saying that others are wrong, but instead why your choice is more optimal based on evidence. We all want to survive and get each other safely to the mainland.

Part 1: Initial Post (Worth up to 50 points)

• Length: 250-500 words
• State and explain your choice. When stating the evidence, consider the challenges that others may have to your evidence and how you could counter those respectful challenges.
• You will need to use at least 3 reputable scientific references to support your post (not including your textbook). Reputable sources= peer reviewed scientific journal articles, accredited websites, or books. Google, Wikipedia, etc. are not acceptable sources.

Answer 1

If stranded on a deserted island the best option to choose is , crack open the available coconuts to drink 2L of coconut water each day.In a deserted island in order to survive its important to be hydrated for the survival.Coconut water is a natural isotonic drink that can help survive in a stranded island. It has electrolyte content like potassium and sodium.It has antibacterial properties due to the presence of lauric acid.It is rich in antioxidants. It is good for hydration and also provide some carbs to keep up the blood sugar levels and to survive even with no food available. It is also rich in enzymes that can fight diarrhea. It also provide small amount of protein as well.

The other choices are not good choices because If we drink too much water in a short period of time it overhydrates. This causes conditions such as hyponatremia. Our body maintains balance in electrolytes and fluids in the blood. For the proper functioning of the electrolyte balance is necessary. Over hydration can result in imbalance of sodium levels and may lead to abnormally low sodium levels that leads to the condition hyponatremia. This causes fatigue, weakness confusions etc.Its always good to take water in intervals and stay hydrated without over hydrating.

The other option is to drink seawater in small quantities. Although small quantities of saltwater can be ingested by humans, drinking saltwater in empty stomach is not advised. In a stranded island as there is no food and freshwater availability drinking saltwater may cause nausea and vomiting. Also in order to get rid of the excess salt content from the body more water should be utilized by the body and more water content is lost from the body as urine. This may lead to dehydration.