Hypertonic, hypotonic, and isotonic IV fluids quiz for nursing students and nurses!
IV fluids are a common treatment in the hospital setting. Therefore, the nurse must be aware of an IV fluid’s osmolarity and what to monitor for while administering it to a patient.
This quiz will test your knowledge on body fluid compartments, osmosis, and crystalloid IV fluid types. Before taking this quiz, you might want to review our IV fluid types notes or watch our IV fluid types nursing lecture.
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IV Fluids (Isotonic, Hypotonic, Hypertonic), Fluid Compartments, Osmosis Quiz
IV Fluids (Hypertonic, Hypotonic, Isotonic): Body Fluid Compartments and Osmosis
1. True or False: Most of the fluid in the body is found in the intracellular space.
The answer is true. The intracellular space is the space inside of the cell. The fluid in it accounts for 2/3 of our body water. Therefore, most of our fluid is inside the cell.
2. Select all the fluid spaces that make up the extracellular compartment:
A. transcellular
B. extravascular
C. intravascular (plasma)
D. interstitial
The answers are A, C, and D. The interstitial, intravascular, and transcellular fluid compartments make up the extracellular compartment.
3. What is the fluid compartment that surrounds the outside of the cells and plays a vital role in helping be a medium for electrolytes and other substances to move to and from the cell to the plasma?
A. intracellular compartment
B. interstitial compartment
C. intravascular compartment
D. transcellular compartment
The answer is B: interstitial compartment
4. What is the fluid compartment that is found inside the blood vessels?
A. intracellular compartment
B. interstitial compartment
C. intravascular compartment
D. transcellular compartment
The answer is C: intravascular compartment
5. What is the fluid compartment that is found in certain body cavities like the spinal cavity, heart, lungs, and joints?
A. intracellular compartment
B. interstitial compartment
C. intravascular compartment
D. transcellular compartment
The answer is D: transcellular compartment
6. Which statement below is the most accurate about the process of osmosis?
A. Water will moves from a solution with a higher solute concentration to a solution with a lower solute concentration.
B. Water and solutes will move from a lower water concentration solution to a higher water concentration solution.
C. Water will move from a lower solute concentration solution to a higher solute concentration solution.
D. Water will move from a fluid of a lower water concentration to a fluid of a higher water concentration.
The answer is C. Osmosis is the movement of water from a fluid of higher water concentration to a fluid of lower water concentration, or, in other words, water will move from a lower solute concentration fluid to a higher solute concentration fluid.
7. True or False: Osmosis is an active transport process.
The answer is FALSE. Osmosis is a passive type of transport process.
8. True or False: If a solution has a high concentration of solutes, it is considered to have a high osmolarity.
The answer is TRUE.
9. Which statements below best describe a hypotonic solution? Select all that apply:
A. It has a high osmolarity.
B. These fluid types have a lower amount of solutes in it compared to the blood plasma.
C. There is more water than solutes in these types of fluids.
D. These fluids can lead to cell shrinkage.
The answers are B and C. Hypotonic solutions have a lower osmolarity than the blood plasma (lower concentration of solutes in the fluid). Osmosis will cause water to move from the extracellular space to the intracellular and swell the cell, which can rupture.
10. What type of fluid below has a low osmolarity?
A. 0.9% Normal Saline
B. 3% Saline
C. Dextrose 5% in 0.9% Normal Saline
D. 0.45% Normal Saline
The answer is D. 0.45% Normal Saline is a hypotonic solution. It contains a lower concentration of solutes compared to the blood plasma. Due to this, it will cause water to move from the extracellular space to the intracellular space, which could swell the cell leading to possible rupture.
11. What is the only fluid type that can be administered with blood products?
A. Lactated Ringer’s solution
B. 0.45% Normal Saline
C. 3% Saline
D. 0.9% Normal Saline
The answer is D. 0.9% Normal Saline is the ONLY fluid that can be administered with blood products.
12. Which fluid below is considered an isotonic solution but works as a hypotonic solution?
A. Dextrose 5% in water
B. Lactated Ringer’s solution
C. Dextrose 10% in water
D. 0.33% Normal Saline
The answer is A. Dextrose 5% in water (D5W) starts out as an isotonic solution, but ends up working as a hypotonic solution. This occurs because once the dextrose in the solution is used by the body (metabolized), there is only free water left over, which has a low osmolarity and acts as a hypotonic solution.
13. Which patients below should not receive Lactated Ringer’s solution? Select all that apply:
A. A patient with a mild case of metabolic acidosis.
B. A pre-op patient for abdominal surgery.
C. A patient experiencing hyperkalemia.
D. A patient with liver failure.
The answer is C and D. Lactated Ringer’s solution (LR) contains water, potassium, sodium, chloride, calcium, and lactate. Patients who are experiencing hyperkalemia (high potassium level) should not receive this solution since it already has potassium in it. In addition, a patient with liver failure is not a candidate for LR because it contains lactate. The liver is responsible for converting lactate to bicarbonate. When the liver is failing this conversion process cannot happen, which can lead to the buildup of lactate.
14. Which fluid type is MOST likely to cause hypernatremia along with fluid volume overload and requires close monitoring by the nurse during administration?
A. 0.45% Normal Saline
B. Dextrose 5% in water
C. 3% Saline
D. 0.225% Saline
The answer is C. 3% Saline is a hypertonic solution and contains a concentrated amount of the sodium. It will cause fluid to leave the intracellular space and enter the extracellular space. This could lead to fluid volume overload and requires very close monitoring by the nurse. The other solutions listed here are hypotonic.
15. Your patient is receiving 0.45% Normal Saline for hypernatremia. What finding requires you to stop the fluid and notify the doctor?
A. decreasing sodium level
B. increased urination
C. confusion
D. polydipsia
The answer is C. 0.45% Normal saline is a hypotonic solution. It can be used to treat hypernatremia (lower the sodium levels in the blood). This fluid causes osmosis to move water from the extracellular space to the intracellular space. If too much is moved to the intracellular space cell swelling can present. Signs of this include mental status changes like confusion. Therefore, the nurse would want to hold the fluid and notify the doctor for further orders. Polydipsia is excessive thirst which presents with hypernatremia. Increase urination and a decreasing sodium level are expected with IV fluid administration.
16. Which fluid below is NOT categorized as an isotonic fluid?
A. 0.9% Normal Saline
B. Lactated Ringer’s solution (LR)
C. Dextrose 5% in water
D. Dextrose 5% in 0.45% Normal Saline
The answer is D: Dextrose 5% in 0.45% Normal Saline. This is a hypotonic solution. Dextrose 5% in water is considered isotonic but once administered it becomes hypotonic (it categorized as an isotonic fluid).
17. What type of solution below can be used to treat cerebral edema?
A. Isotonic
B. Hypertonic
C. Hypotonic
The answer is B. Cerebral edema is swelling of the brain. Hypertonic solutions dehydrate the cell which is helpful with cerebral edema.
18. True or False: Lactated Ringer’s Solution is first-line treatment for fluid resuscitation situations.
The answer is FALSE. LR contains glucose which can increase the blood glucose and is not first-line treatment for fluid resuscitation situations.
19. Which patient below is at risk for fluid volume overload while receive 0.9% Normal Saline?
A. A patient with hyponatremia.
B. A patient experiencing dehydration.
C. A patient with heart failure.
D. A patient who is vomiting.
The answer is C. In cases of the heart failure, the heart is too weak to pump fluid out of the heart. This can lead the body to become overwhelmed with fluid. Patients who are experiencing heart or kidney failure are at risk for fluid volume overload when receiving fluids.
20. What type of fluid can cause the cell the swell and rupture?
A. Isotonic
B. Hypertonic
C. Hypotonic
The answer is C.
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