Solute Concentration of Potatoes Essay

My prediction is that as the concentration increases, the potato cell will lose more weight. This is because of the osmosis of water particles from the potato cell cytoplasm to the solution, resulting in a loss of weight. As the concentration decreases, the potato will lose less weight until a certain point where the osmosis of particles in and out of the potato cells will be equal. I also predict that as the salt

The main purpose of the experiment was to test the idea that water would move from the higher concentration to the lower concentration. In order to test this theory, we placed potato slices in 7 different containers, each containing different concentrations of NaCl, to measure the weight change from osmosis. The containers ranged from 0M NaCl all the way to .6M NaCl. We measured the potato slices before and after placing the slices in the solutions and recorded the net change in weight to determine the tonicity of the potato cells. Our results showed that the potato slices put in a NaCl solution of .2M or higher lost weight and the potato slices put in a NaCl solution of .1M or lower gained weight. This shows that the osmolarity of the potato falls within the range of .1M to .2M, and it also proves the process of Osmosis by having the higher concentration move to the lower concentration. In addition to this, it can be concluded that the osmolarity of cells can be determined by observing the affects of osmosis.

Osmosis is the diffusion of water across a membrane to create an equilibrium between the levels of concentration of a solute both inside and outside the cell. In this case the solute will be sugar as the potato core will be immersed in sucrose solution.

Though the theory following the hypothesis is correct and the experiment was carried out with as much attention as possible in a high school laboratory, the results obtained were still indicative of a few errors and did not support the predicted hypothesis. From the results obtained it can be concluded that as the concentration of sucrose increases the average percentage change in mass decreases. This is because the salt concentration inside the potato cubes of 10%, 15% and 20% concentration is less that in the salt concentration on the sucrose solution, thus the three cubes submerged in the 10% - 20% concentrated solution lost mass (hypertonic). However the cube submerged

An investigation of the glucose concentration of the cell sap in potato cells In this experiment I intend to investigate the effects of osmosis on potato cells. Specifically, I intend to use my knowledge of osmosis to investigate the glucose concentration of the cell sap in potato cells. Osmosis is a method by which water levels on either side of a semi permeable membrane may balance themselves. It occurs between regions of high water concentration and low water concentration.

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.

Effect of Sucrose Solution on Osmosis Aim: The aim of the experiment is to show how varying the concentration of sucrose solution affects osmosis by changing different molar solutions of sucrose and water and how it affects the potato. Introduction: In this investigation I will be exploring the effect of varying concentration of sucrose sugar solution on the amount of activity between the solution and the potatoes. Osmosis is the movement of water molecules across a partially permeable membrane from a high water concentration to a low water concentration.

Showing an example of diffusion with the water molecules equally back and forth the semi-permeable membrane of the potatoes and the saucer of water. The hypertonic solution of salt water has given an example of osmosis. The water molecules passed through the semi-permeable membrane out of the potatoes but weren’t able to get back in as easily due to the salt blocking the membranes passage. This left the potatoes in the salt water saucer feeling flexible and spongy almost leaving the potato a little

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

In conclusion when the molarity level was at 0 and at .2 the potatoes had gained mass so therefore they were placed in a hypotonic environments. When the molarity level was .4 and above the potatoes loss mass so therefore they were placed in hypertonic environments. So the different in concentrations does change the mass of the potatoes because they determine the osmosis environments.

The purpose of this experiment was to investigate the effect of the change in concentration of sucrose on the rate of osmosis in cylinders of potatoes.

Data: Effect of Solute Concentration on Osmosis in Potato Cells (for the 6 groups of our class)

Within every cell, a movement of a solvent occurs through a semipermeable membrane to equalize the concentration of solute on both sides of the membrane. The diffusion of water across the cell’s membrane down to its concentration gradient is called osmosis. In this case, the concentration gradient is the difference of density between one side of the cell membrane to the other. Since the cell’s membrane is permeable, particles can flow freely in and out of the cell, but the net flow will be strong in the direction of lower concentration until the system has reached a stage of equilibrium, the point at which both sides of the membrane are equal. In the

First I gather all my materials needed for the experiment (see materials list). Second I peel and slice potatoes weigh each potato in grams. Get these slices to weigh the same in mass because if they vary to much in mass that could affect the results of the experiment. Third I place each potato in its own beaker. Fourth once the potatoes are placed in beakers I make sure to place enough solution to fully cover the potato. Each beaker should have a different amount of