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Elodea Cells And Solutions With Different Osmolarity Experiment

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Elodea Cells and Solutions with Different Osmolarity Experiment
Introduction
Water is one of the most abundant and yet most important substance here on our planet, in our body cells, even to the smallest organism. Our body consists of up to 60% water, whereas some other organisms can contain up to 90% water (Perlman). All living organisms must keep water level balanced to maintain homeostasis, and to survive. This is where osmolarity comes into play. Osmolarity refers to the concentration of solutes in a solution, closely relating to the movement of water across a membrane (Campbell, 2009).
Before the experiment, the response of Elodea cells in different environments was observed in the lab. Based on observation, my hypothesis on responses of Elodea cells to the different environments are: 1.) Elodea cells would shrink in hypertonic solution with higher concentrations of solute, due to water osmosis down its concentration gradient, diffusing from inside to outside of the cell; 2.) Elodea cells would swell in hypotonic solution with lower concentration of solute, due to water osmosis, diffusing from outside to inside of the cell; 3.) Elodea cells would have no change in solution that is isotonic to the cell, water will diffuse in and out of cell equally.
This experiment will use Elodea plant cells as the research object. Three different tests will be performed to examine how Elodea plant cell would respond in solutions with different osmolarity, and to find out which

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