Lab1:Osmosis&Diffusion

Introduction:Kineticenergy,asourceofenergystoredincells,causes

moleculestobumpintoeachotherandmoveinnewdirections.Diffusionis
theresultofthiscontact.Diffusionistherandommovementofmoleculesto
anareaoflowerconcentrationfromanareaofhigherconcentration.Osmosis
isatypeofdiffusion.Thisisthediffusionofwaterthroughaselectively
permeablemembranefromaregionofhigherwaterpotentialtoaregionof
lowerwaterpotential.Waterpotentialisthemeasureoffreeenergyofwater
inasolution.Alivingsystemalsocontainsanactivetransporttocreate
movementofparticleslikeionsthatmoveagainsttheirconcentrationgradient.
TheenergysourceATPisusedduringthisprocesstomovetheparticles
acrossthecellmembrane.Thisexperimenttakesplacetomeasurethe
diffusionofsmallmoleculesthroughdialysistubing.Thistubingactsasa
selectivelypermeablemembrane,allowinglargermoleculestopassthrough,
butslowly.Dialysisisthemovementofasolutethroughaselectively
permeablemembrane.
Whenthetwosolutionsoneithersidesofthemembraneareequalandnonet
movementisdetected,thesolutionsareisotonic.Thismeansthatthesolutions
havethesameconcentrationofsolutes.Iftwosolutionsdifferinthe
concentrationofsolutesthateachhas,theonewithmoresoluteishypertonic.
Thesolutionthathaslesssoluteishypotonic.
Waterpotentialispredictingthemovementofwaterintooroutofplantcells.
ItisabbreviatedbytheGreekletterpsiandhastwocomponents;aphysical
pressurecomponent,pressurepotential,andtheeffectsofsolutes,solute
potential.Wateralwaysmovesfromanareaofhightolowwaterpotential.
Theequationiswaterpotentialequalsthesumofpressurepotentialandsolute
potential.
Inaplantcell,turgorpressureisnecessary.Thisisapressureavailableto
plantsinahypotonicenvironment.Turgorpressuregivesplantstheirstructure
andstrength.Whenaplantcellisinanisotonicsolution,theturgorpressure
decreases,causingwiltingintheplantstructure.Inhypertonicsolutions,
plantsplasmamembraneshrinksawayfromthecellwall,anactiontermed
plasmolysis.

Hypothesis:Diffusionandosmosisoccurbetweendifferentmolarsolutions

untilthesolutionsareisotonic,effectingtheturgorpressureofplantcells.
Materials:Lab1AThematerialsusedinconductingthisexperimentareas
follows:one30cmstripofdialysistubing(presoaked),distilledwater,
15%glucose/1%starchsolution,250mLbeaker,IodinePotassiumIodide
solution,glucoseTestape,andstring.
Lab1BThematerialsusedinconductingthisexperimentareasfollows:six
presoakedstripsofdialysistubing,distilledwater,0.2M,0.4M,0.6M,0.8M,
and1.0Msolutionsofsucrose,six250mLglassbeakers,string,andan
electronicbalance.
Lab1CThematerialsusedinconductingthisexperimentareasfollows:six
250mLglassbeakers,apotato,acoreborer,aknife,distilledwater,,0.2M,
0.4M,0.6M,0.8M,and1.0Msolutionsofsucrose,string,aruler,andan
electronicbalance.
Lab1DThematerialsusedinconductingthisexperimentareasfollows:
graphpaper,pencil,aruler,acalculator,andcoloredpencils.
Lab1EThematerialsusedinconductingthisexperimentareasfollows:a
lightmicroscope,microscopeslide,coverslip,distilledwater,NaClsolution,
paper,pencil,andonionskin.
Procedure:Lab1A:Obtaina30cmpieceofdialysistubingthathasbeen
presoakedindistilledwater.Tieoffoneendsecurely.Opentheotherendof
thedialysistubeandinsert15mLof15%glucose/1%starchsolution.Tieoff
theotherendofthebag,leavingroomforexpansion.Recordthecolorofthe
solutionwithinthebag.Testthe15%glucose/1%starchsolutionforthe
presenceofglucoseusingTestape.Filla250mLbeakerwithdistilledwater
andaddapproximately4mLofLugolssolution(IKI)tothedistilledwater.
TestthissolutionforthepresenceofglucoseaswellwiththeTestape.Record
theresultsinthedatatable.Immersethebaginthebeakerofsolution.Letthis
standforapproximately30min,oruntildistinctcolorationisobserved.Record
finalcolorsofsolutionsinthebagandinthebeaker.Testbothsolutionsonce
moreforthepresenceofglucosewiththeTestapestrips.
Lab1B:Beforestartingthislab,washyourhands.Obtainsix30cmdialysis
stripsthathavebeenpresoakedindistilledwater.Tieoffeachendsecurely.
Pourapproximately25mLofeachsucrosemolarsolutionintoitsrespective

bags(thatshouldbelabeled,butnotonthetubingitself).Tieofftheother
endssecurelywithstring,carefultogetanyairbubblesoutandleavingroom
forexpansion.Rinseoffeachbagandblotoffthewater.Weighandrecordthe
initialmassofthedialysisbagsinthedatatable.Fillsix250mLglassbeakers
2/3fullofdistilledwaterandlabeleachbeakerwithitsrespectivebags
molarityofsucrose.Immerseeachbagintothedistilledwater.Allowthisto
standforthirtyminutes.Removeeachbag,blotthesidestogetoffextra
solutionandweighandrecordmassingramseachbaganddeterminethe
massdifferenceandpercentchangeinmass.Next,comparethegroup
percentagestotheclass.
Lab1C:Pour100mLoftheassignedsucrosesolutionsintotheir250mL
beakers(prelabeled).Obtainalargepotato.Usingacoreborer,take24
samplesoutofthepotato,andmeasureeachincentimeterssothattheyareall
equalinlength(usetheknifetosliceoffends).Makesurenottoleaveany
skinwiththesamples.Placethesecoresinacoveredbeakeruntilanelectronic
balancecanbeobtained.Determinethemassoffourcoresatatime,placing
thefourintheirsucrosesolutions.Recordthisdataforeachofthesixbeakers.
Allowthesepotatosamplestositimmersedinthesolutionsovernight,
covered.Removethecores,blotoffexcesssolution,andweighthesamples,
recordingthemassinthedatatable.Determinethemassdifference,the
percentchangeinmassandtheclassaveragepercentchangeinmass.Graph
theincreaseanddecreaseinmassofthepotatocoresaccordingtothemolarity
ofthesolutionstheywereplacedinongraph1.2.
Lab1D:Usingpaper,apencil,andacalculatordeterminethesolutepotential
ofthesucrosesolution,thepressurepotential,andthewaterpotential.Also,
obtaingraphpaperandgraphthevaluesgivenforthezucchinipercentchange
inmassandmolarityofsucrosesolutionsinthegraph1.3.
Lab1E:Prepareawetmountslideofonionskin.Observeunderalight
microscopeandsketchwhatyousee.AddafewdropsoftheNaClsolution,
observe,andsketchwhatyouseethereaswell.
Data:Table1.1Thepresenceofglucoseinbeakerandbagsolutions

InitialContents

Initial
Solution

Final
Solution

Initial
Presence

Final
Presenc

Color

Color

ofGlucose of
Glucose

Bag

15%glucose/1%starch
solution

Clear

Midnight
blue

Beaker

WaterandIKIindicator

Amber

Amber

Table1.2DialysisBagResults:IndividualData
Contentsin
Bag

InitialMass

FinalMass

Mass
Difference

Percent
Changein
Mass

Distilledwater

28g

28g

0g

0%

0.2Msucrose

26.9g

28.5g

1.6g

5.95%

0.4Msucrose

27.0g

29.4g

2.4g

8.89%

0.6Msucrose

28.4g

32.6g

4.2g

14.79%

0.8Msucrose

28.2g

32.0g

3.8g

13.48%

1.0Msucrose

29.9g

34.8g

4.9g

16.39%

Bagsimmersed@12:01pm,removedat12:31pm.
Table1.3DialysisBagResults:ClassData

Group1

Group2

Group3

Group4

TOTAL

Class
Average

Distilled
water

0%

0%

.71%

.38%

1.09%

0.27%

0.2M
sucrose

5.95%

4.01%

5.41%

1.75%

17.12%

4.28%

0.4M
sucrose

8.89%

8.63%

8.89%

8.42%

34.83%

8.71%

0.6M
sucrose

14.79%

8.06%

10.69%

9.61%

27.03%

6.76%

0.8M
sucrose

13.48%

15.19%

12.33%

15.70%

56.70%

14.10%

1.0M
sucrose

16.39%

7.29%

15.13%

12.50%

51.31%

12.83%

Table1.4:PotatoCore:IndividualData
Contentsin
Beaker

InitialMass

FinalMass

Mass
Difference

Percent
Changein
Mass

Class
Average
%
Change

Distilled
water

3.4g

4.1g

.7g

20.59%

15.93%

0.2M
sucrose

3.4g

3.5g

.1g

2.94%

2.77%

0.4M
sucrose

6.2g

5.3g

0.9g

14.52%

16.55%

0.6M
sucrose

6.3g

4.8g

1.5g

23.81%

22.83%

0.8M
sucrose

6.2g

4.4g

1.8g

29.03%

25.72%

1.0M

6.0g

4.3g

1.7g

28.33%

28.17%

sucrose
Table1.5:PotatoCoreResults:ClassData

Group1

Group2

Group3

Group4

TOTAL

Class
Average

Distilled
water

20.59%

13.33%

14.81%

15.00%

63.73%

15.93%

0.2M
sucrose

2.94%

3.39%

7.69%

2.94%

11.08%

2.77%

0.4M
sucrose

14.52%

18.64%

15.38%

17.65%

66.19%

16.55%

0.6M
sucrose

23.81%

26.23%

23.08%

18.18%

91.30%

22.83%

0.8M
sucrose

29.03%

26.32%

26.92%

20.59%

102.86%

25.72%

1.0M
sucrose

28.33%

29.31%

30.78%

24.24%

112.66%

28.17%

Questions:
Whichsubstance(s)areenteringthebagandwhichareleavingthebag?
Whatexperimentalevidencesupportsyouranswer?IodinePotassium
Iodideisenteringthebagbecausetheindicatorscolorisconcentratedinthe
bagwhentheIKIstartedonlyinthebeaker.Glucoseandwaterleftthebag,
theevidencewastheTestapecolor.
Explaintheresultsyouobtained.Includetheconcentrationdifferences
andmembraneporesizeinyourdiscussion.Theresultssimplystatethat
thewater,glucose,andIKIweresmallenoughmoleculestopassthroughthe
selectivelypermeablemembrane.Thestarchdidntleavethebeakerbecause
itscolorwasamberandthestarchmoleculewasmuchtoolargetopass
throughtheselectivelypermeablemembrane.
Quantitativedatausesnumberstomeasureobservedchanges.Howcould

thisexperimentbemodifiedsothatquantitativedatacouldbecollectedto
showthatwaterdiffusedintothedialysisbag?Quantitativedatawould
includetheinitialandfinalpercentconcentrationsoftheglucose,therefore
showingtheconcentrationofwaterbythechangeofpercentinglucose.The
movementwouldbenoticeableintheconcentrationbecauseitisknownthat
watermovesfromhighwaterpotentialtoalowwaterpotential.
Basedonyourobservations,rankthefollowingbyrelativesize,beginning
withthesmallest:glucosemolecules,water,IKI,membranepores,and
starchmolecules.ThesmallestsubstancewasIKI,followedbywater,
glucose,themembranepores,thenthestarchmolecules.
Whatresultswouldyouexpectiftheexperimentstartedwithaglucose
andIKIsolutioninsidethebagandonlystarchandwateroutside?Why?
Basedonthesizeofthemolecules,theglucoseandIKIwouldmoveoutofthe
bag,thewaterin,andthestarchleftinthebeakeragain.
Explaintherelationshipbetweenthechangeinmassandthemolarityof
sucrosewithinthedialysisbags.Thesetwothingsaredirectlyproportional.
Asthemassincreases,sodoesthemolarity.
Predictwhatwouldhappentothemassofeachbaginthisexperimentif
allthebagswereplacedina0.4Msucrosesolutioninsteadofdistilled
water.Explainyourresponse.Theseareinverselyproportionalbecause
wheneverthesucrosemolarityinsidethebagismoreconcentrated,itwill
becomemorediluteandviseversa.Thesolutionswillreachequilibrium
somewherebetweenthetwoconcentrations.
Whydidyoucalculatethepercentchangeinmassratherthansimply
usingthechangeinmass?Thedifferencesinmassdontdealwiththe
proportionalaspectofthesolutions,makingtherealresultslessaccurate.The
percentwascalculatedtogivetheexactdifference,alongwithconsideringthe
quantitiesofsolution.
Adialysisbagisfilledwithdistilledwaterandthenplacedinasucrose
solution.Thebagsinitialmassis20g,anditsfinalmassis18g.Calculate
thepercentchangeofmass,showingyourcalculationsinthespacebelow.
18g(finalmass)20g(initialmass)=2/20g(initialmass)x100,whichgives
youa10%changeofmass.

Ifapotatoisallowedtodehydratebysittingintheopenair,wouldthe
waterpotentialofthepotatocellsdecreaseorincrease?Why?Thewater
potentialofthepotatowoulddecreasebecausewatermovesfromahighwater
potentialregiontoalowpotentialregion,andadehydratedpotatocellis
hypertonicincomparisonwiththeenvironment,forcingwatertocomeinto
thecell.Themovinginpartshowsthatthepotatocellhadalowwater
potential.
Ifaplantcellhasalowerwaterpotentialthanitssurrounding
environment,andifpressureisequaltozero,isthecellhypertonicor
hypotonictoitsenvironment?Willthecellgainwaterorlosewater?
Explainyourresponse.Iftheplantcellhaslowerwaterpotential,thatmeans
thewaterwillcomeintothecell,thecellishypertonictoitsenvironment.
Thiscellwillgainwaterbecausewaterfollowsitsconcentrationgradient.
Infigure1.5,thebeakerisopentotheatmosphere.Whatisthepressure
potentialofthesystem?Thepressurepotentialinthisfigureisequaltozero.
Infigure1.5,whereisthegreatestwaterpotential?Thegreatestwater
potentialiswithinthedialysisbag.
Waterwilldiffuse__thebag.Why?Waterwilldiffuseoutofthebag
becausethehighestwaterpotentialisinsidethebag,forcingthewaterout.
Calculatesolutepotentialofthesucrosesolutioninwhichthemassofthe
zucchinicoresdoesnotchange.Showwork.s=iCRTtherefores=(1)
(1.0mole/liter)(0.0831literbar/moledegreesK)(295degreesK)s=24.51
bars.
Calculatethewaterpotentialofthesoluteswithinthezucchinicores.
Showwork.=s+pso=0+24.51,=24.51bars
Whateffectdoesaddingsolutehaveonthesolutepotentialcomponentof
thatsolution?Why?Addingsolutetoasolutionwouldincreasethesolute
potentialanddecreasethewaterpotential.
Considerwhatwouldhappentoaredbloodcellplacedindistilledwater:
Whichwouldhavethehigherconcentrationofwatermolecules?The
distilledwaterwouldhavethehigherconcentrationofwatermolecules.
Whichwouldhavethehigherwaterpotential?Theredbloodcellwould
havethehigherwaterpotential.

Whatwouldhappentotheredbloodcell?Why?Theredbloodcellwould
takeinalotofwaterandmightlyseduetopressureinside.Thisisa
possibilitybecauseanimalcellshavenotoleranceunderhypotonicsituations.
Describetheappearanceoftheonioncells.Theonioncellsappeartohave
greatturgorpressure,spreadout,thickandbrightintheinside.Thecellwalls
wereverydefinedanditwasclearwhereonecellendedandanotherbegan.
DescribetheappearanceoftheonioncellsaftertheNaClwasadded.The
plasmamembraneshriveledfromthecellwall,causingplasmolysis.Thecells
lookedwrinklyorweak.Theturgorpressuredroppedtremendously.
Removethecoverslipandfloodtheonionwithfreshwater.Observeand
describewhathappened.Theonioncellswereagainhypertonictotheir
environment,andgatheredwater,increasinginturgorpressureandrestoring
themselvestothenormalstateofbeing.
Whatisplasmolysis?Plasmolysisistheseparationoftheplasmamembrane
fromthecellwallinaplantcell.
Whydidtheonioncellplasmolyze?Theenvironmentbecamehypertonicto
thecellandthewaterleftthecellrunningwithitsconcentrationgradientdue
totheNaCl.Withallthewaterleavingthecell,itshrank,leavingbehindits
cellwall.
Inthewinter,grassoftendiesnearroadsthathavebeensaltedtoremove
ice.Whatcausesthistohappen.Thesaltcausesthegrasssenvironmentto
becomehypertonic,andthewaterleavestheplantcells,causeswitheringand
eventuallydeathoftheplant.
ErrorAnalysis:Lab1A:Onepossiblesourceoferrorcouldbethetightness
ofthestringthattiedoffthedialysistubing.Iftherewasaleakorabreakin
thedialysistubing,allofthedatawouldbeoff.
Lab1B:Apossiblesourceoferrorinthislabcouldhavebeeninthefirst
step.Ifthehandlerofthedialysistubingdidnotwashtheirhandsand
accidentallytouchedthesacpartofthetubing,theoilsfromtheirhandscould
haveblockedsomeoftheporesonthetubing,distortingthedata.
Lab1C:Apieceofpotatoskincouldhavebeenleftinthebeakersalongwith
thepotato.Thiscausesproblemsinthedatatables.Anotherpossiblesourceof
errorcouldbethatthestudentsdidnotpatdrythepotatosamplewellenough
causingdropstobeleftontheelectronicbalance,tarringitincorrectly,

causingallotherdatatobeoffslightly.
Lab1D:Simplemathematicalerrorsalwaysoccur,sothereisalwaysroom
forsimplealgebraicmistakesinthissectionofthelab.
Lab1E:Ifthewetsamplewasnotpreparedcorrectly,orthesaltsolution
addedtofastnotgivingthecellstimetoreact,thislabwouldhavedifferent
results.Thesourcesoferroralsoincludethepossibleconceptthattheonion
cellsmighthavedriedoutbythetimetheobservergotaroundtosketching.
Thiscouldcauseerrorinobservances,anddatainconclusion.
DiscussionandConclusion:DuringLab1A,thedatasuggestswhat
moleculescanandcannotdiffuseacrossaselectivelypermeablemembrane.
ThecolorationshowedthattheIodinePotassiumIodidewassmallenoughto
passthroughtheporesofthemembranebecausethecolorofthisindicator
movedfromwithinthebeakertointhebag.Waterandglucosemovedout
becausewaterissmallenoughtopassthroughthemembraneandtheglucose
testedpositivewiththeTestapeinsidethebeaker.Theglucoseatthe
beginningwasonlyinthebag,soitobviouslymovedout.
Lab1Bprovedthatwatermovesacrosstheselectivelypermeablemembrane
ofthedialysistubingmucheasierthansucrosesugardoes.Thewatermoved
toreachequilibriumbetweenthesolutions.Sucrosemustbetoolargea
moleculetopassthroughthemembranequickly.
Lab1Cshowedthatthepotatosamplestookinwaterwhenimmersedina
distilledwatersolution.Potatoesmustcontainsucrosemoleculesduetothe
conclusionofthislabbecausethepotatoestakeinwaterinthedistilledwater
beaker.Potatoeshadalowerwaterpotentialandhighersolutepotentialthan
thedistilledwater.Itisjusttheoppositeinsidethebeaker.
Lab1Dscalculationsmadeitevidentthatalloftheresultscouldbe
determinedandprovedcorrectwithsimplealgebraequationsandformulas.
Thisgivesthelabmuchbetterillustrationandastableunderstandingof
diffusionandosmosis.
Lab1Eshowedtheplasmolysisclearlyandallowedthestudenttoseeexactly
whatgoesoninthisaction.Thisparticularpartofthelabillustratedthe
shrinkingoftheplasmamembranefromthecellwallinaplantcell.Itshows
howplantcellsreactinahypertonicenvironment.Theturgorpressure
decreasesalot,andthecellsbecomeveryweakwhenthewaterleavesthe

cell.