Osmosis Internal Assessment - Biology Higher Level

Use Equal widths of potato core each time by using the same corer. This is important because if I used a different corer, the potato core might come out as a different width. This could be because of rust, or maybe even the thickness of the metal.

Purpose: To determine the concentration of solute in the potato’s cytoplasm by measuring the change

Purpose: The purpose of this lab is to familiarize you with osmosis and, specifically, what happens to cells when they are exposed to solutions of differing tonicities.

The Osmosis and Diffusion lab was conducted to provide us with information on how built up mucus affects those conflicted by the recessive genetic disease, Cystic Fibrosis., due to a mutation to the membrane regulating chloride (Cl-). This mutation prevents the Cl- from leaving the cell causing the amount of sodium (Na+) in epithelial cells, which results in extreme mucus on the lungs and airways causing this disease to be fatal if not treated but treatment does not equate to a long lifetime. During the lab we took the data from three parts: Diffusion, Osmosis in an Elodea Cell, and finally the Role of Osmosis in Cystic Fibrosis. During Part 1 we looked at diffusion across a semipermeable membrane for starch and glucose, which resulted in both having a negative solution when placed in a semipermeable membrane. Then we looked at osmosis in the Elodea Cell to watch for the occurrence of Plasmolysis, when a cell’s plasma membrane pulls away from the cell, and how a plant cell is affected by both hypertonic and hypotonic solutions. Finally, we observed the role of Osmosis in Cystic Fibrosis using dialysis bags to represent a normal cell and a Cystic Fibrosis cell with the normal containing 1% NaCl while the Cystic Fibrosis bag contained 10% NaCl. After we ran the experiment, we looked at the Percent Change in Mass and compared them after 30 minutes. We found that Cystic Fibrosis cells didn’t change mass as much as the normal cell ending with a change in mass over -1%. The

Table 1 shows the contents of the bags and the content of the concentration it was submersed in. Bags 2-4 each contain a solution of both sucrose and water. These bags were each put into beakers containing hypertonic solution. These bags gained weight over time because the water moved from its high concentration inside the beaker to the low concentration inside the membrane of the artificial cell, the membrane being the bags that consisted of dialysis tubing. The

Repeated Trials: In procedure one, we tested diffusion on different sized cell models (gelatin with various volume and surface area wise). In procedure two, we tested cell models in different internal environments and similar external environments to find the effects on rate of osmosis. In procedure three, we used potato cells in different concentrated sucrose environments to test the effects on water potential on cells and osmosis.

If Michael’s mistake had been caught earlier, is there anything that could have been done to prevent the corn from dying?

The reasoning behind this experiment is the examine whether the rate of osmosis is changed due to a change in temperature. It was hypothesized that the rate of osmosis will increase as the temperature of the sucrose is increased. The rate of osmosis was tested by using the different jars full of different temperate water and testing how high the water rose on an osmometer over a span of 20 minutes. An osmometer is a tool used to measure rates of osmosis. The different temperatures tested on a sucrose solution were 5 degrees Celsius, 20 degrees Celsius, and 37 degrees Celsius. Rates of osmosis were higher in the hot water than in the cold water and control. The results showed that the rate of osmosis increased as the temperature increased, henceforth the hypothesis was supported. In conclusion, the experiment showed how changes in temperature affect the rate of osmosis.

The following hypothesis was made in regard to effect of the concentration gradient on the rate of diffusion: The higher the concentration gradient, the faster the rate of diffusion.

Osmosis is defined as the tendency of water to flow through a semipermeable membrane to the side with a lower solute concentration. Water potential can be explained by solutes in a solution. The more positive a number is more likely it will lose water. Therefore should water potential be negative the cell the less likely it will lose water. In using potatoes the effects of the molarity of sucrose on the turgidity of plant cells. According to Clemson University, the average molarity of a White potato is between .24 M and .31 M when submerged in a sorbitol solution. This experiment was conducted with the purpose of explaining the relationship found between the mass in plants when put into varying concentrations of sucrose solutions. Should the potatoes be placed in a solution that contains 0.2M or .4M of sucrose solution it will be hypotonic and gain mass or if placed in .6M< it will be hypertonic and lose mass instead. Controlled Variables in this lab were: Composition of plastic cups, Brand of Russet Potatoes, Brand of Sweet Potatoes and the Temperature of the room. For independent variable that caused the results recorded it was the different Sucrose concentrations (0.0M, 0.2M, 0.4M, 0.6M, 0.8M, 1M). The dependent variable was the percentage change from the initial weighs to the final. The cup with .4 molarity was the closest to an isotonic solution and was used as the control group for the lab. Water potential is the free energy per mole of water. It is

Van’t Hoff’s Law suggests that the osmotic potential of a cell is proportional to the concentration of solute particles in a solution. The purpose of this experiment was to determine if there are any differences between the osmolalities, the no-weight-changes of osmolalities, and the water potentials of potato cores in different solutions of different solutes. The percent weight change of the potato cores was calculated through a “change in weight” method. The potato core’s weight was measured before and after they were put into different concentrations of a solute for 1.5 hours. In our experiment, there were no significant differences from the osmotic potentials of our results and the osmotic potentials of other scientists work. Ending with chi square values of 2.17 and 2.71, and p values of 0.256 and 0.337, concluding that there is no difference in water potentials of potato cores in different solutions of different solutes at varying concentrations.

Osmosis is a special type of diffusion where water molecules move down a concentration gradient across a cell membrane. The solute (dissolved substance) concentration affects the rate of osmosis causing it either to speed the process up or slow it down. Based on this, how does different concentrations of sucrose affect the rate of osmosis? If sucrose concentration increases in the selectivity-permeable baggies, then the rate of osmosis will increase.

Cells are always in motion, energy of motion known as kinetic energy. This kinetic energy causes the membranes in motion to bump into each other, causing the membranes to move in another direction – a direction from a higher concentration of the solution to a lower one. Membranes moving around leads to diffusion and osmosis. Diffusion is the random movement of molecules from an area of higher concentration to an area of lower concentration, until they are equally distributed (Mader & Windelspecht, 2012, p. 50). Cells have a plasma membrane that separates the internal cell from the exterior environment. The plasma membrane is selectively permeable which allows certain solvents to pass through

However one beaker received 100 mL of Deionized water with a molarity of 0.0. Afterwards a cork borer was pushed through the potato and was twisted back and forth. Once the borer was filled it was removed from the potato. Pushing the potato cylinder out of the borer, this this step was repeated six more times in order to get seven undamaged potato cylinders. Using a sharp razor blade, the potato cylinders were both cut to a uniform length of about 5cm, and were removed of their potato skins. The potato pieces were also cut in half to give the cells a greater surface area in which it was easier to absorb the solution. After the cylinders were weighed on a balance and the data was recorded in Table 4. Using the razor blade each potato was cut lengthwise into two long halves. Then the potato pieces were transferred to the water beaker and the time they were submerged was recorded. This step was repeated for all potato cylinders in which the pieces were placed in solutions 0.1 to 0.6 M. The potatoes were incubated for ninety minutes. At the end of the incubation period the time was recorded. Then the potato piece was removed form the first sample. Next potato pieces were weighed the and the final weight was recorded in Table 4. This procedure was repeated until all samples had been weighed and recorded in the chronological order they were initially placed in the test solution. Afterwards the table was completed by recording the

The purpose of this lab is to test the effect of osmosis on cucumber slices. If a cucumber slice is placed in a hypertonic solution, then the mass of the cucumber slice will decrease. Whereas, if