Read the following statements and select the correct option. Assertion (A):…

Osmosis is the net movement of water molecules through a selectively permeable membrane - one that lets water pass while restricting the movement of larger dissolved solutes - from a region of higher water concentration to a region of lower water concentration, until the system approaches equilibrium.

Dried raisins hold a concentrated cell sap with very little free water, so their cells are hypertonic relative to plain water. When raisins are soaked in water, the plant cell's plasma membrane - being selectively permeable - lets water molecules enter the cells while holding back the dissolved sugars inside. This net inward movement of water increases cell volume and the raisin visibly swells; this is a standard demonstration of osmosis.

The claim that plant cells possess a selectively permeable membrane is a well-established biological fact, and it is exactly this selective permeability that is the causal mechanism enabling the water uptake just described: without it, either no controlled water movement would occur (an impermeable membrane) or solutes would leak out along with water entering (a fully permeable membrane), and the clean water-only inflow that causes swelling would not happen. So the membrane property is not a coincidental fact sitting beside the swelling observation - it directly explains why the swelling happens.

• Two statements about the same phenomenon can each be independently true without being unrelated - selective permeability is exactly the property that supplies the causal mechanism for the water movement, so the explanatory link holds.

• A membrane being selectively permeable is a standard, verified property of plant cells, not a false claim - it lets water pass while regulating solute movement.

• Placing dehydrated fruit such as raisins in plain water is a directly observable process, not a false premise - the fruit visibly swells as water enters the hypertonic cells, exactly as osmosis predicts.