Title: Osmosis and Diffusion Lab

Introduction: Diffusion is the passive movement of molecules from an area of higher

concentration of these molecules to an area of lower concentration. Eventually, once a dynamic
equilibrium is reached, there will be no net movement from one area to the other. The diffusion
of water through a selectively permeable membrane is osmosis. Water moves from a region of
higher concentration of water to a region of lower water concentration. This is also known as
movement from a region of higher water potential to a region of lower water potential. The
purpose of this lab is to examine diffusion, osmosis, and water potential.

Hypothesis:
Lab A: The diffusion of small molecules through dialysis tubing, a selectively permeable
membrane, will be measured. If glucose and starch are placed in a “cell” (dialysis bag) into
water, then only the glucose molecules will be able to pass through the membrane because those
molecules are smaller than starch.

Lab B: The movement of water in and out of potato cores will be examined. The potato cores
placed in varying concentrations of sucrose solutions will have different percent changes in mass
depending on the water potential and water concentration.

Lab C: The effect of placing a living cell into a solution that has a lower or higher concentration
of water than the cell will be examined. If the wet mounted onion cells are flushed with sodium
chloride solution, then the cell will lose water because water will move from inside the cell into
the salt solution to reach equilibrium.

Materials:
Lab A: The materials needed are 30 cm piece of 2.5cm dialysis tubing (soaked in water), Iodine
Potassium Iodide (IKI) solution, 15% glucose/ 1% starch solution, glucose test strip, distilled
water, and a 250ml beaker.

Lab B: Potatoes, a knife, six different sucrose solutions of 0.0M, 0.2M, 0.4M, 0.6M, 0.8M, and
1.0M, six cups, plastic wrap, and a scale are needed.

Lab C: A microscope slide, cover slip, onion cells, KimWipes®, light microscope, dH2O, and
15% NaCl solution are needed.

Procedure:
Lab A: Used a 30cm piece of 2.5cm dialysis tubing that has been soaking in water and tied off
one end of the tubing to form a bag. A sample of 15% glucose/1% starch solution was tested for
the presence of glucose using a glucose test strip. Then a second sample of the same solution was
tested for starch using IKI. The results for glucose and starch were recorded. 15ml of the 15%
glucose/1% starch solution was poured into the dialysis tubing bag. Then the other end of the bag
was tied off, leaving sufficient space for expansion of the bag. The color of the contents was
recorded. A 250ml beaker was filled two-thirds full of water and 4ml of IKI was added. Starch
and glucose of the water in the beaker were tests for and recorded. The dialysis bag was
immersed in the beaker of IKI solution and left overnight. The final color and presence of
glucose and starch of the solution in the bag and in the beaker were recorded the next day.

Lab B: Sucrose solutions of 0.0M, 0.2M, 0.4M, 0.6M, 0.8M, and 1.0M were prepared. About
100ml of each solution was poured into a cup. A potato was sliced into small cubes without skin.
Four potato cores for each cup were weighed before being placed in their sugar solution cups.
Each beaker was covered with plastic wrap to prevent evaporation and left overnight. The next
day, the cores were removed from each beaker, blotted gently on a paper towel, and their each
beaker’s potato cores’ masses were weighed. The percent change in mass of the cores were
calculated and recorded.

Lab C: A wet mount of onion epidermis cells were prepared. The cells were examined under a
light microscope. Then 2 drops of 15% NaCl was added to one edge of the cover slip. By
touching a KimWipe to the opposite edge of the cover slip, the salt solution was drawn across the
slide. After the salt solution test, the cover slip was removed and the cells were flooded with
fresh water.

Results:
Lab A: Initial Observations and Predictions
Initial Initial Color Predicted Initial Predicted Initial Predicted
Contents of Solution Final color Presence of Final Presence of Final
of Solution Glucose Presence of Starch Presence of
Glucose Starch
Bag 15% glucose clear Blue Yes Yes Yes Yes
1% starch
Beaker H2O & IKI Brown with Clear No Yes No No
chunks brown

Lab A: Experimental Observations

Initial Initial Color Final color Initial Final Initial Final
Contents of Solution of Solution Presence of Presence of Presence of Presence of
Glucose Glucose Starch Starch

Bag 15% glucose Clear Blue-black Yes Yes Yes Yes

1% starch
Beaker H2O & IKI Brown with Blue-black No Yes No Yes
chunks
Lab B: Potato Core Group 3 Data
Contents in Beaker Initial Mass (g) Final Mass Mass Difference Percent Change in
Mass
0.4M sucrose 7.13 6.33 0.8 -11.2%
0.6M sucrose 6.17 4.89 1.28 -20.7%
To calculate percent change in mass = Final Mass-Initial Mass/Initial Mass x 100
Lab B: Potato Core Class Data
Percent Change in Mass of Potato
Cores
Contents in Group 1 Group 2 Group 3 Total Class Average
Beaker
0.0M water 77.7 13.6 22.1 113.4 37.8
0.2M sucrose 4.8 5.5 x 10.3 5.2
0.4M sucrose -14.5 -11.2 -14.1 -39.8 -13.3
0.6M sucrose -20.7 -17 x -37.4 -18.7
0.8M sucrose -29 -22 -17 68 22.7
1.0M sucrose -13.5 -19.8 -23.7 57 19

Group Data
0
0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7
% Change in Mass

-5

-10
-11.2
-15

-20 -20.7
-25
Sucrose Molarity

Potato Cores Class Data

50
40 37.8
% Change in Cores

30
20 22.7
19
10
5.2
0
-10 0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1 1.2
-13.3
-20 -18.7
-30
Sucrose Molarity

Sucrose molar concentration equivalent to the molarity of the cores is about 0.24M
A. Diffusion Questions
1. Which substances are entering the dialysis bag and which are leaving? Glucose and
IKI can leave and enter the dialysis bag. Starch molecules are too large to pass through
the membrane.
2. Explain the results you obtained by discussing concentration differences and
membrane pore size. Glucose went to the beaker to reach equilibrium. IKI water went
into the bag to reach equilibrium.
3. What other molecule can we assume also moved across the membrane? Water
molecules
4. How could this experiment be modified so that quantitative data could be collected
to show that water diffused into the dialysis bag? If the initial and final percent
concentration of glucose and IKI for the bag and beakers were calculated, the differences
would show.
5. Based on your observations, compare the size of each of the following molecules
with the membrane pore size: glucose, water, IKI, starch. Water molecules, IKI
molecules, and glucose molecules- in order of increasing size- can pass through
membrane pores. Starch can’t pass through the membrane.
6. What results would you expect if the experiment was set up incorrectly? If the
experiment started with glucose and IKI in the bag and starch and water in the beaker,
the glucose and IKI would move out of the bag to make concentrations equal. The starch
would not be able to move into the bag.
7. Explain why the digestion of starch to glucose is necessary. Starch is a complex
molecule and has to be broken down into glucose.
8. Summarize the process of diffusion. Diffusion is the passive movement of molecules
through a membrane to get from an area of higher concentration of those molecules to an
area of lower concentration until a dynamic equilibrium is reached.
B. Osmosis Questions

Sucrose Molarity and Zucchini Cores

30
% Change in Mass of Cores

20
10
0
0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1 1.2
-10
-20
-30
-40
Sucrose Molarity
9.
10. Determine the sucrose molar concentration equivalent to the molarity of the
zucchini cells. 0.36M
 11. Why did you calculate % change of mass of the potato cores rather than use the
change in mass directly? The percent change in mass was calculated to show how much
the mass increased due to the movement of water molecules.

C. Plasmolysis
12. What is plasmolysis? The loss of water within a cell
13. In the winter, icy roads are often salted to remove the ice and make them less
slippery. Grasses often die near the side of the road. What causes this to happen?
Grasses around the salted area die because the water is drained from their cells and into
the hypertonic salt area around them.
14. When a person is given an IV in the hospital, the fluid is typically a saline solution
isotonic to human body tissues. Why is this necessary? If the solution was hypotonic
or hypertonic, it will cause body cells to lose water or gain excess water.
15. What would happen if a patient was given an IV bag with distilled water rather
than saline solution? Distilled water has a lower concentration of solutes than the blood
cells and a higher concentration of water. Water will flow into the blood cells.
16. Explain why organisms need contractile vacuoles. An organism like Paramecium is
hypertonic to the water it’s in. Water continually enters the cell, but the contractile
vacuole forces excess water out to prevent it from being lysed.
17. Explain why contractile vacuoles would be of little value to one-celled organisms
living in salt water. There’s no need to pump water out in salt water environments.
18. Explain why salty popcorn causes thirst The salt causes saliva to rush to your mouth to
balance the salt and water concentrations.

Sources of Error:
Lab A: Shown in the table “Lab A: Experimental Observations”, there appeared to be starch in
the final observations in the beaker. During final observations, the water in the beaker had blue
and black spots, which indicates starch coming into contact with the IKI. Starch (in the bag) is
not supposed to have passed through the selectively permeable membrane into the beaker. Starch
is a larger molecule that does not easily pass through the membrane by diffusion. Lab group 3
was the only group to have this source of error. There might have been a hole in the tubing bag,
or there was starch on the outer surface of the bag by accident.
Lab C: After adding the salt solution to the onion cells sample, the cells should have shrunk and
reduced in size, but no change took place when observed. The cells might have been dried out
prior to the experiment, and thus did not visibly change.

Discussion and Conclusion:

 Diffusion and osmosis, both types of passive transport, were observed during the labs.
The hypothesis for labs A and B were proven correct. IKI and glucose molecules were able to
pass through the selectively permeable membrane. Starch was a larger molecule and could not.
There was a change in the mass each of the potato cores in Lab B. The percent change decreased
(towards a negative value) as the molarity increased to 0.6M. After 0.8M, the percent change
increased (towards a more positive value). In Lab C, the onion cells are supposed to shrivel after
being flushed with salt solution. However, there was no change observed under the microscope.
For a more credible experiment, the onion cells shouldn’t have been stored in a dry place prior to
the lab. Also, the actual concentration differences for Lab B could have been measured for
quantitative, rather than qualitative, data.