Eva Gutierrez

Per. 3
1. Title
Diffusion and Osmosis

2. Abstract
Diffusion is the movement of particles from an area of higher
concentration to an area of lower concentration. Diffusion results because of
the random movement of particles. The diffusion of water into and out of a
selectively permeable membrane is called osmosis. Because of the selectively
permeable membrane, nothing but water and other very small particles can be
diffused through osmosis. The cell membrane is similar to the membrane
mentioned above, so the cell would lose water because of osmosis if it were
placed in an environment in which water concentration is greater than that of
the cell. A solution is isotonic if the concentration of dissolved substances is
the same as the concentration inside the cell. Osmosis does not occur in an
isotonic solution.

3. Introduction
The life of a cell is dependent on efficiently moving material into and out
of the cell across the cell membrane. Raw materials, like oxygen and sugars,
are needed for the production of energy and other cellular products must enter
the cell. Whereas waste products, such as carbon dioxide and ammonia, which
are all generated during energy production and cellular digestion must be
removed from the cell. Most of these materials move passively, costing the
cell no energy, through the process of diffusion.
Diffusion is the movement of molecules from an area of higher
concentration of those molecules to an area of lower concentration. A good
metaphor for this molecular motion is what happens if you were to open a
bottle of hydrogen sulfide gas in one corner of a room. It would not be long
before someone in the opposite corner of the room would smell the odor of
rotten eggs. The molecules appear to be moving from an area of higher
concentration of H2S gas to an area of lower concentration of H2S gas.
Eventually a dynamic equilibrium is reached; the concentration of H2S gas
will be approximately equal throughout the room and no net movement of
H2S will occur from one area to the other.
The diffusion of water through a selectively permeable membrane is
referred to as osmosis. Water moves from a region of higher concentration of
water to a region of lower water concentration. This is often also stated as
movement from a region of higher water potential to a region of lower water
potential. Distilled water) has the highest concentration of water or the highest
water potential. However, diffusion and osmosis do not entirely explain the
movement of ions and molecules into and out of the cell. Some molecules are
valuable enough to the cell to expend energy transporting them across the cell
membrane. This active transport uses energy from ATP to move substances
through the cell membrane. Active transport usually moves substances against
 a concentration gradient, from regions of low concentration of that substance
into regions of higher concentration.

4. Materials and Methods

See lab notebook pages 4-8

5. Results
A

Table 1.1 Initial Color Color Glucose Glucose final

Content initial final initial
bag 15% glucose clear blue 50% 10%
& 1% starch
beaker H2O+IKI Light Clear none 25%
yellow yellow

1.) Which substance (s) are entering the bag and leaving the bag?
What experimental evidence supports your answer?
In the diffusion lab, we discovered that the glucose from the dialysis tube
was leaving and going into the beaker. The glucose solution diffused out the
bag due to the fact that the bag contained a hypotonic solution. This allowed
for the net movement of the solution glucose. The movement of these
glucose molecules was caused by the hypertonic solution inside the dialysis
bag. This is when the amount of solute is greater than the amount of solvent.
Soon after we placed a strip into the water in the beaker to detect for the
presence of glucose. The change of color in the strip told us whether there
was any glucose.
2.) Explain the results you obtained. Include the concentration
differences and membrane pore size in your discussion.
The results we obtained after the experiment showed us that there was net
movement of molecules across the dialysis bag membrane. After waiting the
required 30 minutes, we dipped the color changing slip into the beaker; the
results showed that there was a presence of glucose outside the dialysis bag.
The glucose molecules were able to cross the membrane, because its size
was smaller than the bag, which also explains why starch couldn’t diffuse
across the bag. It came out of the bag into the solution due to the process of
diffusion.
3.) Quantitative data uses numbers to measure observed changes.
How could this experiment be modified so that quantitative data
could be collected to show that water diffused into the dialysis
bag?
Quantitative data could be used in the experiment by measuring the
amount of water potential and solute potential of the experimental solutions
instead of relying on color changes. It would have helped us more by giving
us details in which solution and molecules had diffused the most and the
least. By using quantitative data, we are able to calculate more results in
 numbers and giving us a more thorough answer in what our observations are
in numbers.
4.) Based on your observations, rank the following by relative size,
beginning with the smallest: glucose molecules, water
molecules, IKI molecules, membrane pores, starch molecules.
Based on my observations, the size of the molecules that are the smallest
are water molecules, the second smallest size are the glucose molecules.
Next the IKI molecules followed by the membrane pores which let the three
molecules above diffuse across the semi-permeable membrane of the
dialysis tubing bag. The largest molecule that was present in the experiment
was the starch molecules. This was the reason why it was the only molecule
that couldn’t diffuse across the membrane. It was too immense to diffuse
across the membrane.
5.) What results would you expect if the experiment started with a
glucose and IKI solution inside the bag only starch and water
outside? Why?
If the experiment had started with a glucose and IKI solution inside the
bag with only starch and water outside then we would expect the color
of strip outside of the dialysis bag to change after the Lugol’s was diffused
across the membrane from the inside of the bag. We would anticipate that he
glucose molecules to move across the semi-permeable membrane to the
outside of the bag where there is a subordinate concentration of glucose.
This can because of the fact that the size of the glucose molecules is smaller
than the membrane pores. It would also be the same with the IKI solution.
We imagine that it to be able to go to the outside of the bag given that the
molecules are smaller than the membrane pores. The starch molecules
would be stuck to the outside of the dialysis bag, because they are too large
of molecules to go through the membrane pores to the inside of the bag. The
water molecules would probably stay in the outside of the bag because the
solution of the exterior is a hypertonic solution.

B
Percent Change in Mass of Dialysis Bags
Table1.3 Group 1 Group 2 Group 3 Group 4 Group 5 Group 6 Group7
water 1% 35.87%
0.2 4.8% 23.38% 24.8%
0.4 4.8% 5.51% 2.59%
0.6 9.1% 13.98% 11.5%
0.8 7.05% 5.87% 14%
1.0 14.43% 23.7%

10.) a. The Independent Variable: Morality of Sucrose- (x-axis)

b. The Dependent Variable: Percent of Change in Mass- (y-axis)
1.) Explain the relationship between the change in mass and the morality
of sucrose within the dialysis bags.
Mass is effected by the morality of sucrose. When the dialysis tubing was
placed into the beaker with only distilled water, the bag had the least
increase in mass. As the morality of sucrose increased, the amount of mass
inside the dialysis bag also increases. Because of the process of osmosis, as
the morality of sucrose increases inside the bags, the concentration of the
solute also increases leaving the bags to be in a hypertonic solution. This
causes the water from the outside of the bag to cross the membrane of the
bag into it.
2.) Predict what would happen to the mass of each bag in this experiment
if all the bags were placed in a 0.4M sucrose solution instead of
distilled water. Explain your response.
If all the bags were put into a solution containing only a 0.4M of
sucrose instead of distilled water, then there would be a great deal of
changes made. The bag with only distilled water would decrease in mass
because the water will move out of the bag by the process of osmosis. The
bag that contains a 0.2M of sucrose will have a reduction in size, the water
concentration is this solution is superior to the concentration outside of the
bag. The bag that with a 0.4M of sucrose would still undergo osmosis but
the net movement would be in equilibrium since both sides of the membrane
would be in an isotonic solution. It would undergo osmosis because net
movement is always going on. This would mean that there will not be a
change in mass but rather the same weight. In the bags with .6M, .8M, and
1M of sucrose, they will all have an increase in size because the solution
outside of the bag will have a higher concentration of water than the inside.
3.) Why did you calculate the percent change in mass rather than simply
using the change in mass?
The percent change in mass gives us a more perfect description of how
much the mass increases or decreases. Since the bags are different mass in
the beginning and they observe distilled water during the experiment,
creating a different rate. If we then just use the change in mass it will give us
 wrong results this is why we use percent change in mass. And also by using
percent change we can compare class data.
4.) A dialysis bag is filled with distilled water and then placed in a sucrose
solution. The bag’s initial mass 20 g and its final mass 18 g. calculate
the percent change of mass, showing your calculations here.

Percent Change in Final Mass – Initial Mass

Mass = Initial Mass X 100
Percent Change in 18g. – 20g.
Mass = 20g. X 100
Percent Change in Mass = -2g.
20g. X 100
Percent Change in Mass = -0.1 X 100
Percent Change in Mass = -10

5.) The Sucrose solution in the beaker would have been to the
distilled water in the bag.
Isotonic Hypertonic Hypotonic

C
Percent Change in Mass of Potatoes
Table1.5 Group 1 Group 2 Group 3 Group 4 Group 5 Group 6 Group 7
water 12.86% 85.87%
0.2 3.1% 89.13% 6.17%
0.4 -1.756% 56.34% 25.22%
0.6 35.9% -6.5%
0.8 65.65% -9.5% 32.73%
1.0 -12.9 -22.4%
 10.) Molar Concentration of Sucrose = 0.2M

1.) If a potato core is allowed to dehydrate by sitting in the open air, would
the water potential of the potato cells decrease or increase? Why?
If a potato core was to sit out in the open and allowed to dehydrate, the
water potential would decrease, because the cells are losing water. They
need more water for them to live. Because as they sit in the sun, water is
leaving their membranes and plant cells need water for survival. The water
potential would decrease, because they’re losing water each minute. There is
a higher water concentration on the outside of the cells than there is on the
inside while there is a higher concentration of solute in the inside of the
cells. Cells live as turgid.
2.) If a plant cell has a lower water potential than it’s surrounding
environment and if pressure is equal to zero, is the hypertonic or hypotonic
to its environment? Will the cell gain water or lose water? Explain your
response.
 If a cell has a lower water potential than its surrounding environment in
that case it is hypertonic to its environment. The concentration of solute
inside the cell is higher than the concentration on the outside. Therefore the
cell will begin to need water and go through the process of osmosis quickly
to regain it, or it will die slowly. The process of osmosis will begin to speed
up. Then the cell will gain water into its central vacuole to sustain its life.
3.) In figure 1.5 the beaker is open to the atmosphere. What is the pressure
potential of the system?
The pressure potential would be 3.
4.) In the figure 1.5 where is the greatest water potential?
Beaker Dialysis bag
5.) Water will diffusive ___________ the bag? Why?
Into Out
Water will diffuse into the bag, because there is a higher concentration of
water outside the bag then inside. Even though the concentration of solute is
higher outside of the bag, the water in the solution made it so that it would
have more water on the outside rather than in the inside of the bag.

6-7.)

b. What is the molar concentration of solutes within the Zucchini cells?

Around .3M of Sucrose

8. a) Calculate the solute potential of the sucrose solutions in which the

mass of the zucchini cores does not change. Show your work here.

Solute P = - iCRT
Solute P= (1)(O.3M)(0.0831/0.3M)
(273+27)
Solute P= -24.93
 b.) Calculate the water potential of the solutes within the zucchini cores.
Show your work

Water P = 0 + Solute P or Water P = Solute P

Solute P = -24.9
Water P= -24.93

9.) What effect does adding solute have on the solute potential component
for that solution? Why?
Adding solute to a solution, we are increasing the solute potential within
it. This will cause the water potential of that solution to decrease, making
the cell need of water. If a cell was in this solution the cell would
plasmolyze due to the high concentration of salt that lay within the solution.
10.) Consider what would happen to a red blood cell placed in distilled
water.
a. Which would have the higher concentration of water molecules?
Distilled Water RBC
b. Which would have the higher water potential?
Distilled Water RBC
c. What would happen to the red blood cell? Why?
The red blood cell would have of water flowing though its membrane and
staying in it. This will eventually cause it to swell up and even burst. The
concentration gradient of water outside of the cell is higher than the inside
so water will be coming in quickly. Since the RBC has no cell wall and most
importantly a central vacuole, it won’t maintain the amount of water it has
in it.

1.) What is plasmolysis?

Plasmolysis is when a plant cell is in a hypertonic condition. This is when
there is slight to no water present in the cell causing the. Plasmolysis occurs
in plant cells after it is placed into a hypertonic environment, where it does
not belong. This causes all the water to leave the cell until equilibrium
between both particles is reached also known as a flaccid cell. Flaccid cells
are always in isotonic conditions.
2.) Why did the onion cells plasmolyze?
 The onion cells plasmolyze, because it was placed along with 2 or 3 drops
of NaCL. The NaCL (salt) is in a hypertonic condition meaning that there is
a higher concentration inside the cells then there is outside the cell. This
causes all the water inside the cell to leave and go to the NaCL until
equilibrium is reached its all done by net movement. When an isotonic
condition is met, by now the cell would have been already plasmolyzed.
They have lost most of all of their water and need water, or they will die out.
3.) In the winter, grass often dies near roads that have been slated to remove
ice. What causes this to happen?
The grass frequently dies during winter. Since the salt that is put to
remove ice falls on the plants. The salt causes plants to release water so that
they can both meet an isotonic condition. This causes all the water inside the
grass cells to leave and cross over the membrane to the salt, this process is
known as net movement. All the water from every cell leaves, so there is not
water left in each cell. This causes them to plasmolyze and eventually die
out. Therefore the grass near the roads always dies during winter.

6. Discussion

The movement of particles from an area of higher concentration to an area

of lower concentration is called diffusion. Diffusion results because of the
random movement of particles. Osmosis is the diffusion of water in and out
of a selectively permeable membrane. Due to the selectively permeable
membrane, only water and other very small particles can be diffused
through osmosis. In the diffusion lab, we discovered that the glucose from
the dialysis tube was leaving and going into the beaker. The glucose solution
diffused out the bag due to the fact that the bag contained a hypotonic
solution. This allowed for the net movement of the solution glucose.