Ma.

Daniela del Hierro

Period 3
10/11/2013

INTRODUCTION
Research:

Osmosis
Osmosis is a specific type of diffusion which involves water molecules. Water
molecules move from high to low water concentration through a selectively permeable
membrane. A selectively permeable membrane allows small molecules to pass through
it with no energy input needed, although it prevent the large molecules pass through due
to the needing of energy.


If a selectively permeable membrane separate two solutions (as shown in image), water
moves through the membrane in both directions at the same time (BBC, 2013).
However more water leaves the dilute solution (high water concentration) and passes to
the more concentrated solution (low water concentration).
Pure water contains the highest water concentration possible (BBC, 2013). As more salt
or sugar is dissolved (adding of solutes), the water concentration decreases. A
concentration gradient is when there is a high water concentration in one area and low
concentration in another.
Animal cells are surrounded only by a membrane and may swell and even burst if too
much water enters the cell by osmosis. Plant cells in the other hand have a strong cell
wall which surrounds the membrane; this wall prevents them from swelling (Science
Clarified, 2009). Cells become turgid, which helps plant stand upright and not wilt. In
another case scenario such as losing water through osmosis, animal cells will shrivel up
when they lose their water. Plants will shrink, but tough cell walls keeps the shape when
the membrane inside shrinks, cell is plasmolysed and plant will wilt.
Water potential is the tendency of water to move from one place to another.

Objectives:
1. Determine how osmosis works using cell models (dialysis bags), and how the
amounts of solutes affects the different solutions.
2. Discover how water potential works and what factors may affect it.
Hypothesis 1: During these experiments, it will be proven that diffusion and osmosis
occur between solutions of different concentrations until dynamic equilibrium is
reached, affecting the cell by osmosis or increased turgor pressure during the process.
Therefore, the orange solution will have the highest molarity since it gained the most
mass during the experiment. Meaning that orange was a hypertonic solution.
Hypothesis 2: If the pear has a higher concentration of solutes than the potato, then as
they are introduced in different solutions (red, yellow, green, blue, and orange) the pear
will swell more than the potato, because of the solute concentration, due to water
potential.

EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN
Exercise 1

Manipulated
variable
Responding
variable
Constants Control
Colored solutions
(yellow, green,
red, blue, orange,
clear) inside the
dialysis bags (5)
Changes in mass
in the dialysis
bags (%)
Amount of
distilled water in
the beakers (3/4
of beaker)

Amount of
solution in
dialysis bags
(3ml)

Room
temperature

Time

pH
Dialysis bag
placed in clear
solution (distilled
water), filled with
clear solution
(3ml.)

# of trials: 1

Exercise 2
Manipulated
variable
Responding
variable
Constants Control
Color solutions
(yellow, green,
red, blue, orange,
clear) inside the
beakers
Change in mass in
potato and pear
(%).
Number of pieces
of potato (2)

Number of pieces
of pear (2)

Amount of
solution in each
beaker (40ml)

Room
temperature

Time

pH

strings
Potato (2 pieces)
placed in clear
solution (distilled
water)

Pear (2 pieces)
placed in clear
solution (distilled
water)
# of trials: 2

PROCEDURE
Materials:
Small dialysis bags (5)
Distilled water
Color solutions (red, yellow, green, blue, clear, and orange), sucrose that contain
different molarities
Beakers (5 of 500 ml each)
Beakers (5 of 40 ml each)
Syringe (10 ml)
Electronic balance
Chronometer
Knife
Potato
Pear
Strings (11)
Paper towels


Procedure:
Exercise 1:
1. Get small dialysis bags
2. Tie a knot at one end of the dialysis bags
3. Fill with 3 ml of solution
4. Tie the other end with a string
5. Rinse dialysis bags with sink water
6. Blot the dialysis bags with a paper towel
7. Weigh in electronic balance and record data
8. Repeat steps 1 through 5 for each solution
9. Fill beakers with 45 ml of distilled water
10. Place each of the dialysis bags with the solutions in each beaker
11. Use chronometer to record time (25 minutes)
12. At the end of the 25 minutes, get dialysis out of bags
13. dry them with a paper towel and weigh each in electronic balance
14. Record data
Exercise 2:
1. Peel the potato with the knife
2. Fill 6 beakers with color solution (with the different solutions, 40ml)
3. Cut the potato in pieces 6
4. Weigh the pieces (two by two) using the electronic balance and record data
5. Put two pieces in each of the beakers with solutions
6. Cover each beaker with plastic wrap
7. Place your groups beakers in the hood and let them there over night
8. Next class, take potatoes out of beaker
9. Blot them with paper towel
10. Weigh them in electronic balance
11. Record data
12. Repeat steps 1 through 11 with a pear



RESULTS AND ANALYSIS
Results:
Exercise 1
Contents in bag Initial mass Final mass
Mass
difference
Group data bag
(%) Class average (%)
clear 3,9 3,7 -0,2 -5,13 -0,48
red 6 5,95
yellow 3,7 4,4 0,7 18,92 7,65
blue 4 4,7 0,7 17,5 7,75
green 3,9 4,3 0,4 10,26 8,96
orange 3,9 4,8 0,9 23,08 24,71

Exercise 2
Contents in
Beaker Initial mass Final mass
Mass
difference
Group data
potato %
Class average
potato Molarity
clear 11,4 12,9 1,5 13,16 10,95 0
red 13,5 14 0,5 3,7 6,82 0,2
yellow 13,2 12,7 -0,5 3,79 15,63 0,4
blue 5,1 4,2 -0,9 -17,65 7,56 0,6
green 9,1 7,2 -1,9 -20,88 7,32 0,8
orange 10,6 8,3 -2,3 -21,7 2,6 1






Contents in
Beaker Initial mass Final mass
Mass
difference
Group data pear
% Molarity
clear 11,9 12,4 0,5 4,2 0
red 0,2
yellow 9,7 10,7 1 10,3 0,4
blue 10,3 10,3 0 0 0,6
green 10,5 9,5 -1 -9,5 0,8
orange 10,7 9,7 -1 -9,3 1

Analysis:


In this graph, as demonstrated clearly, the blue line represents the class average.
The line depicts that as molarity in the different sucrose solutions increased (from left to
right: 0.0, 0.2, 0.4, 0.6, 0.8, 1.0) the change in mass increased also. Meaning that the
orange solution (molarity 1.0) was the most hypertonic; having more solutes means that
the water will diffuse by osmosis into the cell. Graph clearly shows (and can be verified
with the table as well) that the orange solution was the one to increase its mass the most
(25%). The lower point in the blue line, on the other hand, demonstrates that the clear
solution (distilled water) with a molarity of 0 was a hypotonic solution meaning water
will not come into the cell but go out or stay in trying to reach equilibrium. The red line
which depicts my groups data, both lowest and highest values mean the same as in the
blue line. The difference that exists in the middle where both yellow and blue solutions
(with molarities 0.4, 0.6 respectively), will may have occurred due to human error, since
there cant exist a drop in the green solution with molarity 0.8, since its a more
hypertonic solution than the ones previously mentioned.
-10
-5
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
clear red yellow blue green orange
C
h
a
n
g
e

i
n

m
a
s

o
f

d
i
a
l
y
s
i
s

b
a
g
s

(
%
)

Color of solutions (sucrose with different molarities)
Water potential as dialysis bags filled with
different solutions are exposed to distilled
water
Class average
Group data

The blue line in the graph (class average of the potato) demonstrates that the
potato in the distilled water was the hypertonic solution so it gained in mass. Meaning
the water entered the potato through diffusion (osmosis), seeking for equilibrium. This
also occurred in the red solution where the molarity was 0.2. On the other hand
beginning in the yellow solution (as molarity increased) the potato lost mass. The
shriveling of the potato means that the hypertonic solution is now the colored solutions.
Meaning the water of the potato needed to come out of it into the solutions, through
osmosis to try and reach equilibrium. The red line representing the group data of the
potato has a similar shape as the blue line; depicting the same information previously
mentioned. The poor difference between the red and yellow solutions where the potato
was placed may mean a human error as not the exact same amount of potato was placed
in each beaker. Although basically the information means that as the molarity increases
(except distilled water and red solution where the potato is the hypertonic solution), the
potato shriveled meaning that the outside solutions where more hypertonic, needing the
diffusion of water from the potato to reach equilibrium. As it comes to the green line
that represents the pear: when placed in distilled water, the pear will become bigger
since it is the hypertonic solution, needing the outside water to enter the cell (hypotonic
solution) to reach equilibrium. This will also occur in the case of red and yellow
solutions (0.2, and 0.4 molarity respectively). Although in the blue solution, the graph
suggest equilibrium must have been reached since there didnt exist a change in the
mass. Green and orange solution (0.8 and 1.0 molarity respectively) demonstrate that
the surrounding solutions where more hypertonic than the pear, so water in fruit had to
go through osmosis to get to an isotonic solution.


-30
-25
-20
-15
-10
-5
0
5
10
15
20
25
clear red yellow blue green orange
C
h
a
n
g
e

i
n

m
a
s
s

(
p
o
t
a
t
o

a
n
d

p
e
a
r

i
n

%
)

Color solutions (sucrose with different molarities)
Water potential as potato and pear are
exposed to different solutions
Class average potato
Group data potato
Group data pear
CONCLUSIONS
The purpose of the experiment was to understand how water potential works and
the factors that may affect it, as well as the understanding of osmosis and how it works
in both hypertonic and hypotonic solutions. It is important to mention that the
understanding of isotonic solutions is also to be understood. Major findings of the
experiment include that as the molarity of different solutions increased the diffusion of
water (osmosis) also increased (in the case of the dialysis bags), meaning that the
distilled water inside the bags was hypotonic. Another major finding includes that the
potato when in the presence of the different colored solutions with different sucrose
molarities will increase its mass at certain point as well as decrease it. Meaning that the
potato changed being either hypertonic or hypotonic depending on the molarities of
the different solution it was exposed to. The same happened with the pear but at a
different rate, and with the exception that at certain point the pear reached equilibrium,
becoming an isotonic solution. My first hypothesis was correct since it was proven that
the diffusion of water (osmosis) occurred between solutions with different
concentrations, which will try to reach equilibrium. Water is always moving from
hypotonic to hypertonic solutions, causing the change in mass of the cell, increasing it
(increasing turgor pressure). The most hypertonic solution was the orange one, which
resulted to have the largest molarity 1.0. I was also correct in my second hypothesis as
pear did contained a water concentration of solutes that the potato, meaning that the
pear will swell more than the potato. This was certainly proven by the experiment, with
the exception that at first the potato (in both distilled water and the red solution)
increased its mass, meaning it was the hypertonic solution. But in the rest of the
solutions (as molarities increased) the potato shriveled meaning that it became the
hypotonic solution. The pear swelled until certain point, until it got to equilibrium (blue
solution), becoming an isotonic solution, after that the pears mass started to decrease
meaning it became the hypotonic solution. Except for some variations present in the
graphs where my groups findings and class average findings, the information was
similar, evident variations in parts of the graphs may have been introduced by human
error. Possible explanations for my findings include that, water diffuses by a process
called osmosis from hypotonic to hypertonic solutions, with the sole purpose of
reaching equilibrium. Human error will include the exact amount of different colored
solutions introduced in dialysis bags, as well as the amount of distilled water placed on
beakers. Also the exact amount of pear and potato in each of the small beakers as well
as the amount of different colored solutions placed in the beakers. Timing was also a
great factor which results in inexact with human error. I will recommend that amount of
solutions placed in the dialysis bags should be stabilized, as well as the weight of both
potato and pear for more exact results. For further study I will suggest the usage of
different substances as well as the addition of heat or cold. To determine how osmosis
works in different temperatures.


Bibliography:
BBC. (2013). Cells and Diffusion. Retrieved October 11, 2013 from:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/standard/biology/investigating_cells/cells_and_dif
fusion/revision/4/
Biology Corner. (2013). Diffusion and Osmosis. Retrieved October 11, 2013 from:
http://www.biologycorner.com/bio1/notes_diffusion.html
Science Clarified. (2009). Osmosis. Retrieved October 11, 2013 from:
http://www.scienceclarified.com/everyday/Real-Life-Chemistry-Vol-2/Osmosis-
Real-life-applications.html#ixzz2hl3nH2Q3