BIOLOGY PRACTICAL REPORTS FOR FORM 4

Experiment 3.6 (Practical textbook page 30)

Problem Statement : What is the concentration of an external solution which is isotonic to
the cell sap of plant tissue?
Objective : To determine the concentration of an external solution which is isotonic to the cell
sap of plant tissues.
Hypothesis :When plant cells are immersed in an isotonic solution, there is no net gain in mass
and size.
Variables: manipulated variable: concentration of sucrose solution
responding variable: mass of strips of potato
constant variable:
time of immersion of the potato strips /
volume of sucrose solution used / type of plant tissue
used
Materials: potato strips, distilled water, 5%sucrose solutions, 30% sucrose solution, tissue
paper
Apparatus: knife, cork borer, 3 beakers 250ml, electronic weighing scale, ruler
Technique: record the change in mass of the potato strips that has been immersed for 1 hour in
different sucrose concentrations using an electronic weighing scale
Cork Borer

Potato
Strip

Distilled
Water
L

Sucrose
Solution
M

Sucrose
Solution
N

Apparatus set-up to determine the concentration of an external solution which is isotonic to the
cell sap of plant tissues.
Procedure:
1. 3 beakers were labelled as L, M and N. Beaker L was filled with distilled water, beaker M
with 5% sucrose solution and beaker N with 30% sucrose solution.
2. A cork borer was used to obtain 3 potato strips. Each strip was cut to a length of 5 cm. The
potato strips were wiped dry using filter paper. Each potato strip was weighed using an
electronic weighing scale and the initial mass recorded in a table of results.

3. The potato strips were placed immersed in the respective sucrose solutions and left for 1 hour.
After 1 hour, each potato strip was taken out from its respective beaker, wiped dry and its
mass weighed. The final mass was recorded in a table of results.
4. The texture was recorded and its appearance noted.
5. The % difference in mass was calculated.
6. A graph of % difference in mass against concentration of sucrose solution was drawn and
from the graph the concentration of sucrose solution which is isotonic to the cell sap of the
potato was determined.
7. Safety precaution: The potato strips were wiped dry using tissue paper before weighing to
get a more accurate mass.
Results:
Beaker Concentration
of sucrose
solution
L
Distilled
Water
M
5%
N
30%

Final
Initial
Mass/g Mass/g

% difference in mass =
Final mass Initial mass x 100%
Initial mass

Texture and
appearance

Discussion:
1. What is the texture and appearance of the potato strips after being immersed in the various
concentrations of sucrose solution?
2. What do the axes on your graph represent?
3. How do you determine the concentration of sucrose solution which is isotonic to the cell sap
of the potato from your graph?
4. Based on the experiment, discuss the process of osmosis in the various concentrations of
sucrose solutions.
Conclusion:
The hypothesis is accepted. When plant cells are immersed in an isotonic solution, there is no net
gain in mass and size.