DECONSTRUCT QUESTION

A floppy lettuce needs to be crisp to

eat in half an hour for a party. How
can you make the lettuce isotonic in
that time?

Part 1: Justifying which aspect will be focused on for the

design:
GROUP MEMBERS: Ricky Lieu, Luke Stainer, Phi Hung Tran, Tyson Tang
Question: What factors will affect the rate of osmosis in a lettuce leaf?
Possible
factors Concentration Pressure Temperature Surface area to Time lettuce is
gradient volume ratio left in solvent

How can the Changing the Changing the Heating/cooling Cutting the 5min
factor be amount of solute pressure of the the lettuce lettuce in
changed? in the solution environment different
that the lettuce that the shapes
10min
will be placed in, experiment is
Heating/cooling
using the same done in such as
the room which
solution with through
the osmosis Cutting the
different solute ventilation. 30min
takes place lettuce into
concentration
different sizes

Heating/cooling
Changing the
the solvent
solution which
which the
the lettuce is
lettuce is
placed in
placed in

Questions to How does How does At what How can the Does the
research about changing the pressure affect temperatures lettuce be cut to duration of time
this factor: concentration the rate of does lettuce maximise affect the rate of
gradient impact osmosis? cells work best surface area to osmosis?
e.g. how will the rate of at to have an volume ratio?
create my osmosis? How will other efficient rate of How can the
osmosis factors have osmosis? Will smaller lettuce be cut
environment How can side effects on samples of so that there is
for this factor osmosis which the pressure of How does the lettuce have a no advantages
has occurred be the experiment? external greater rate of or
how will the easily environment osmosis? disadvantages
rate of measured? What are the affect the when testing
osmosis be most optimal efficiency of the efficiency in
measured What solution(s) levels of osmosis? osmosis?
could be used to pressure for
investigate this osmosis to
factor? occur?

Answers to Changing the Higher The The lettuce Time affects the
above concentration pressures will temperature could be cut rate of osmosis,
research gradient does increase the will increase after the as the longer
questions: indeed have an rate of osmosis the rate of fold/wrinkle of the cell is given
impact on the as, high diffusion as it the leaf to to go through
rate of osmosis, pressures will provides the obtain the extra osmosis, the
in that when the cause the cell with more surface area. concentration
concentration of water/solute kinetic energy, gradient will
a solute within a molecules to be producing heat Although a decrease,
solvent is lower, closer together, for movement. smaller sample lessening the
osmosis will increasing the This will result will not have an rate of osmosis
occur faster concentration, in a faster effect on the
within that leading to a movement of rate of osmosis, As the cell has
solution greater water it will to fit within a
(freedrinkingwate difference in the molecules emphasise the beaker, the cell
r.com, 2019). concentration across a effect that the should be
gradient, semipermeable rate of osmosis roughly 3
increasing the membrane, has on the cell centimetres in
rate of osmosis therefore a (Linzel, 2014). width to be able
The easiest to fit into the
(Alley, R.A. more efficient
method by far to beaker without
2017) rate of osmosis
see how much bending or
(freedrinkingwa
osmosis has Certain factors folding the cell
ter.com,
occurred is to such as to maintain
2019s).
weigh the lettuce temperature will standard
after it has been increase effect The lower the surface area.
soaked in a pressure, where temperature, This can be
solution for a higher the less kinetic created using
certain amount of temperatures energy there is instruments
time, given that will lead to low for movement such as knifes
an increase in pressure as the of molecules, and rulers
mass would molecules move therefore a although this
connote water further apart. lower rate of would not be
going into the The majority of osmosis. extremely
lettuce while a other factors will accurate.
decrease would not have a large Instruments
suggest the effect on such as laser
opposite pressure cutters would
(nau.edu, 2019). (Pritisha, R.P. be more
[No Date]). accurate
A solution which
alternatives to
has a more Osmosis best knifes.
tangible occurs when the
concentration is solution with the
more desirable higher
as changing the concentration of
concentration solute has the
would therefore lower
change the concentration
concentration and the side
gradient of the with the lower
solution. There solute
are two main, concentration
readily available will be higher in
solutions which pressure
can be made in a (Chaplin, M.C.
practical, which c2019).
is a salt solution
and a sugar
solution (Lobo,
T.L. 2018)
 Possible Although The possible Temperature of Lettuce can The time which
Limitations to weighing lettuce levels of water is very only be cut so the lettuce is
investigating in order to see pressure are hard to small before it limited as the
this factor: how much between 29 maintain; as is too small to lettuce needs to
osmosis can inches to 31 external cut, and be ready in half
occur is doable, inches as those sources will therefore hard an hour (30
it may be are common influence it. to observe as mins)
susceptible to environmental This will well
systematic error air pressure produce many
as water laying levels. random errors
on the lettuce that may affect
Only 2D
would also be the precision of
shapes can be
weighed. These the experiment.
used due to the
would have to be
thinness of the
accounted for by
lettuce
firstly removing
the excess water
in the practical
design after the
lettuce is taken
out of the
solution

The rate of
osmosis is not
measured,
however the
percentage
increase/decreas
e could be
derived from the
weights.

Part 2: Design the experiment

Design an experiment to test the effect of one factor on the rate of osmosis. You will need to
determine your independent and dependent variable to do this effectively. In this design you
should have only one independent variable.

Design your experiment individually. In your design include all the details required to undertake a
reliable and valid experiment. You must also consider the ethical and safety aspects of this
experiment. Reference your information appropriately.

Hypothesis It is hypothesized that as the solute concentration (sugar) increases, the

mass of the lettuce increases.
As the concentration of sugar increase, the solution becomes hypotonic,
Justification
where the water enters the lettuce, therefore making it gain mass
for
(nau.edu, 2019).
prediction
Variables Independent: Concentration of sugar in sugar-water solution (5g/25ml
water, 10g/250ml water, 15g/250ml water, 20g/250ml water, 25g/250ml
water).

Dependent: The mass of the lettuce slice after being placed in a

solution for 20 minutes.

Justification The concentration of sugar in the sugar water solutions directly impacts
for why the concentration gradient, essentially meaning that the concentration
these gradient, the factor being investigated, is being changed.
variables
were chosen
The mass of the lettuce slice was chosen as the dependent variable as it
is easy to investigate since weighing objects is very accessible.
Additionally, a percentage difference can be derived from this statistic if
the initial weight of the lettuce is measured.

Factors that must Why the factor must be held How this factor
be held constant constant will be held constant

The time the If the lettuce is left in for longer, A stop watch will be set to
lettuce is left in the there is more time for osmosis twenty minutes in order to track
solution to occur. If it is left in for less how long the lettuce is left in the
time, there would be less time solution.
for osmosis to occur. As
allowing osmosis to occur for
varying would impact the
dependent variable, the weight
of the lettuce after it has been
left in the solution, it must be
kept constant.

The temperature If the experiment took place in a The experiment will only take
where the practical hotter environment, the particles place in one, indoors location.
takes place would be moving around faster,
causing the rate of osmosis to
differ (freedrinkingwater.com,
2019).

The initial weight of For deriving a percentage The lettuce will be cut with a
each lettuce. increase/decrease, the initial knife, being consistently
weight of each lettuce must be weighed until the digital scale
kept constant. This is due to the reads 30 grams.
percentage being relative to
each lettuce. Without starting at
the same initial weight, the
different experimental samples
 cannot be compared with each
other.

Surface area of the The surface area of the lettuce
lettuce must be constant as different
surface-area-to-volume ratios
will impact the rate of osmosis.
If the ratio is higher, more water
can enter from more areas,
increasing the rate of osmosis.
When the lettuce is being cut
down to 30 grams they will also
be cut into the same shape,
which in this investigation will be
rectangles.

Equipment list:

Chemical/piece of Size Quantity Concentration

equipment

Coles iceberg lettuce Normal 1

Knife Normal 1

Digital scale Small 1

Cutting board Normal 1

Sugar water solution 250ml 1 5g/250ml

Sugar water solution 250ml 1 10g/250ml

Sugar water solution 250ml 1 15g/250ml

Sugar water solution 250ml 1 20g/250ml

Sugar water solution 250ml 1 25g/250ml

Glass beaker 250ml 5

Stopwatch Normal 1

Paper towel roll Normal 1

Tweezers Small 1

Potential hazards Precautions taken to ensure Actions to take in case

specific to practical safety hazard occurs

Knife could be dropped on Shoes which fully enclose the foot
feet. will be worn. Additionally, the
knife will be handled with care,
always being held by the handle
and only moved across the room
unless absolutely necessary. The
knife will also be kept close to the
A teacher will be notified
immediately, and the knife
would be picked up off the
floor, washed so it doesn’t
become a bio hazard, and
placed in a safe location.
 wall, on the bench where the
practical is performed.

Sugar-water solution could
be spilt, creating a slipping
hazard
The solutions will not be kept
close to the ledge of the benches,
and will also be handled with
care, such as being poured slowly
into beakers and being carried
with two hands when being
moved.
If the solution is spilt, nearby
students should be alerted
so they can avoid the
spillage. A teacher should
then be notified in order to
start clean-up efforts.

A beaker could drop and
break on the floor
The beaker will not be kept close
to the ledge of the benches, will
only be moved when absolutely
necessary and be handled with
two hands. Closed, sturdy shoes
will also be worn to hopefully
prevent injuries if the fragments
were accidentally stepped on.
If a hazard occurs,
surrounding students along
with the teacher should
immediately be notified.
Then, the safe disposal of
the fragments into the bin
with the sand in it should
occur.

Outline of 1. Each sugar-water solution should be poured into its own glass beaker.
procedure They should be arranged in an ascending order of concentration from
to be left to right. As the concentration of the sugar in the solution is the
followed independent variables and the different concentrations are the
experimental samples, they must be kept separate. The order the
beakers are placed in would make it easier to take note of data and
lesson the possibility of human error.
2. The piece of the lettuce will be torn off and continually cut with the knife
on the cutting board, trying to maintain a rectangular form, until it weighs
30 grams. The digital scale will be used to weigh the lettuce. The shape
(and therefore the surface-area-to-volume ratio) along with the initial
weight are both factors which impact the rate of osmosis. Maintaining a
rectangular form when cutting is an attempt to maintain a same surface
area to volume ratio while the 30 grams will be the initial mass.
3. Repeat the previous step 14 times. To improve precision, more
experimental trials should be done for each experimental sample.
Making a total of 15 lettuce portions would allow for 3 trials for each
experimental sample.
4. Place one lettuce portion into its own beaker, then start the timer. The
portions should be placed in their own beaker to reduce the chance of
random error.
5. After twenty minutes, take each lettuce portion out with the tweezers
and set each one to dry on its own paper towel for 2 minutes. The
excess water must be removed from the lettuce, which is why it is
placed and left on the paper towels for 2 minutes. The lettuce should be
specifically left in the solution for 20 minutes as the time impacts how
 much osmosis can occur. Tweezers would be used to ensure liquid is
not squeezed out of the lettuce.
6. Weigh each of the lettuce portions using the digital scale. The weight of
the lettuce portions after being placed in the solution is the dependent
variable and therefore has to be measured.
7. Repeat steps 4-6 two more times. This is done as it increases the
amount of experimental trials, increasing the precision of the
investigation.

Labelled diagram – what will your experiment set up look like? (digital or hand drawn)

Digital scale Paper towels

Lettuce Beaker Sugar-water solution

Cutting board
Results Table

Table 1 – Sugar-water concentration with each lettuce portions weight after with derived
average and percentage change

Sugar-water Initial Weight after being left in solution for 20 Average Percentage
concentration weight of mins (g) weight change (%)
(g/250ml) lettuce (g) Trial 1 Trial 2 Trial 3 after being
left in
solution
(g)
5 30
10 30
15 30
20 30
25 30
Bibliography –

Freedrinkingwatercom. 2019. A Complete Resource Guide to Osmosis. [Online]. [21 August 2019]. Available from:
https://www.freedrinkingwater.com/resource-a-complete-resource-guide-to-osmosis.htm

Nauedu. 2019. Osmosis. [Online]. [21 August 2019]. Available from:

http://www2.nau.edu/lrm22/lessons/osmosis/osmosis.html

Lobo, T.L. 2018. Science Experiments on the Osmosis of a Potato. [Online]. [21 August 2019]. Available from:
https://sciencing.com/science-experiments-osmosis-potato-8360195.html

Alley, R.A. 2017. Sciencing. [Online]. [21 August 2019]. Available from: https://sciencing.com/three-pressure-gas-
closed-container-8222761.html

Raha, R.P. [no date]. Geographynotes. [Online]. [21 August 2019]. Available from:
http://www.geographynotes.com/atmosphere/air-pressure/air-pressure-factors-distribution-atmosphere-earth-
geography/5438

Chaplin, M.C. c2019. Lsbuacuk. [Online]. [21 August 2019]. Available from: http://www1.lsbu.ac.uk/php-
cgiwrap/water/pfp.php3?page=http://www1.lsbu.ac.uk/water/osmotic_pressure.htm

Linzel. 2014. Medium. [Online]. [21 August 2019]. Available from: https://medium.com/@linzel/osmosis-and-
surface-area-volume-relationships-43cdd4fe2d7b