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Osmosis in Potato Cells Essay

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Osmosis in Potato Cells

I am going to do an experiment to find the concentration of solute in potato cells. In order to find the best way to do this experiment I am going to do a preliminary test first.

For my preliminary test I decided to use potato cylinders 3cm long and I would see if the cylinders increased or decreased in mass. I used salt solution in three different concentrates: 0.0M, 0.5M and 1.0M. I put 20cm3 of each concentrate into 3 different boiling tubes, which were then placed in test tube racks. I then placed a cylinder of potato in each boiling tube and left them for three days. My results were inconclusive because I left them in the solutions for too long so the potato …show more content…

I will then use the same potato to carefully cut 11 3cm long potato cylinders using an apple corer. I will then cut each cylinder into 10 separate small slices using a scalpel and carefully weigh them and take the mass to 2 decimal places. I will then record the masses and place them into the solution, making sure I know which mass went into which solution. I will leave them for 2 days and then weigh them again. I will then repeat the experiment again so I can take an average of my results so they are more accurate. I am doing the test this way because I feel that this is the most accurate way I can perform this experiment realistically in a school lab.

I will make sure it is a fair test by making sure that I put exactly 20cm3 of solution in each boiling tube, and that I mix the concentrates accurately and wash out the measuring cylinders after each measurement, making sure there are no drops of water or salt solution left in the bottom. I must make sure that the potato is healthy before I start using it, and make sure that my cylinders are cut neatly and are measured accurately. I must take care to make sure I do not loose any of the small slices of potato when measure before and after the experiment, I must also take when using the balance to make sure it reads 0.0 before I

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