Name: Queenie P.

Opelio Date Performed:

Year and Course: 1st year (BSN) Date Submitted:
Subject title: Biochemistry/Laboratory Code number: 3642
Name of Professor: Mr. Sean Cayco Score:

Laboratory Activity 1
Exercise no. 1
Movement of Substance through Cell Membrane
Experiment Demonstrating Diffusion
I. INTRODUCTION

If we put a teaspoon of instant ice tea on the surface of a glass of water, the molecules
soon spread throughout the solution. The molecules of both the solute (ice tea) and the solvent
(water) are propelled by random molecular motion. The initially concentrated tea becomes more
and more dilute. This process of the net movement of a solute with the gradient (from an area of
high concentration to an area of low concentration) is called diffusion.

If the solute can pass through the membrane, diffusion will occur with net transport of
material from the region of initial high concentration to the region of initial low concentration,
and substance will equilibrate across the cell membrane. After a while, the concentration of the
substance will be the same on both sides of the membrane; the system will be at equilibrium, and
no more net change will occur.

II. OBJECTIVES
At the end of the experiment, each student will be able to:
1. Know the materials that’s been used in the experiment.
2. Observe the procedure during the experiment.

III. MATERIALS:
2 – 250ml beaker, 1-500ml beaker, 1-1000ml beaker, 5 test tubes, test tube rack,
test tube brush, test tube holder, 3 x10 cellophane bag, 1-rubber band, iron ring, 3
pipette, 3-medicine dropper, water bath, electric stove, 1-25ml graduated cylinder,
1m string, ruler

5g powder gelatin, 1ml methylene blue, 2g KMnO4, 2 g NaCl, 5% glucose soln,

2g albumin powder, 2ml Nitric acid, 2ml silver nitrate, 2ml Benedict’s soln.

IV. PROCEDURE:

Movement of dye through the gel

1. Preliminary preparation (a day or two before the laboratory period): add 5 gram (or 1
tsp) of gelatin to 25ml of cold water. Let stand for 5 minutes. Add 75 ml of boiling water
and stir until dissolved. Pour about 15 ml of the solution into a test tube. Fill the
remaining solution to another test tube refrigerate until gelled.

2. Place a drop of methylene blue on the surface of the gel prepared ahead of time. Set aside
at room temperature. At the end of 1 hour, 2 hours, 6 hours,12 hours and 24 hours,
observe whether the dye has move and if so in which direction and how far.
Diffusion of KMnO4

3. Place a few crystal of potassium permanganate on the bottom of a beaker half filled with
water. Observe.
The dialyzing membrane

4. Prepare a bag of 3 x 10 inch of cellophane

5. Prepare a solution as follows in a large beaker (500ml): to 100ml of water add ½ tsp of
NaCI plus 50ml of 5% glucose, and the uncooked albumin and place them inside the
 cellophane bag. Both NaCI and glucose are crystalloids or true solutes, whereas albumin
is a colloidal solute. (Better look at these terms up if you are not sure what they mean)

6. Tie a string around the top of the bag and suspend it in a 1000ml beaker with distilled
water. You may use an iron ring and stand for this set-up. If the cellophane bag is very
thick you may pinch a very small hole in the bag and suspend it in the distilled water. Let
it stand for about an hour and then the test indicated in steps a, b, and c.

a. Test for albumin: Using a pipette, pour about 5 ml of the fluid into the test tube. Add a
few drops of nitric acid. Note whether coagulation occurs. Nitric acid coagulates albumin

b. Test for the presence of NaCI: Using a pipette, pour about 5ml of solution into a test
tube and add a drop of silver nitrate. Note whether a precipitate forms. If NaCI is present it
will combine with silver nitrate to from a precipitate of silver chloride.

c. Test for the presence of glucose: Using a pipette, pour about 5ml of solution into a test
tube and put 5ml of Benedict’s solution. Water bath the tube for 2 minutes and let it cool
slowly Note: whether a green, yellow, or red precipitate forms indicates the presence of
glucose/sugar.

I. RESULTS AND OBSERVATION

1. Did the dye diffuse through the colloid gelatin, in its gel state? Why?
Yes! All the three dye’s have diffused from an area of high concentration to an area of low

concentration or along their concentration gradient

2. In which direction did the dye move through the gel?

The direction did the dye move through the gel along the concentration gradient from high out

to low.

3. What causes the movement of the dye through the gel? What do you call this process?
The causes movement of the dye is based on sized and solubility because, the smaller the

molecule the faster it will move, reverse, the larger the molecule the slower it will diffused.

The process called diffusion.

4. Did the result you observed in the 3 under the collection of data indicate that potassium
permanganate diffused through the water? Why?
Yes! Because in a hot water potassium permanganate diffused fast, while in the cold water

potassium permanganate diffused but in slower way.

5. Based on the result you observed in the step 2 and 3 do you postulate that diffusion
occurs rapidly through the gel, or a liquid, or both at the same rate?
The movement of dye through the gel took at least half an hour to diffused while the

potassium permanganate diffused in a liquid substance.

6. Did the result in step 7, 8 and 9 indicate that the crystalloids glucose and NaCl diffused
through the dialyzing membrane? Why?
No! A crystalloid is a material with part or all of the characteristics of a crystal, or a substance

that forms a real solution and dialysis diffuses across a membrane. Dialysis is a similar

mechanism to. The diffusion of a solvent through a semipermeable membrane is referred to

 as osmosis.

7. Did the colloidal solute albumin diffuse through the membrane in this experiment?
The concentration difference of solutes in the solutions separated by the semipermeable

membrane drives the solvent shift.

8. From the experiments you performed in steps 2 and 3, explain the net diffusion of
solutes to its concentration.
During step 2, the movement of the dye through the gel, it concentrated within its c

concentration gradient. While step 3, diffused movement downward and in one direction .

9. Give at least three (3) factors that affect the movement of materials into the cell through
the cell membrane.
Membrane thickness, Concentration gradient, Temperature and Pressure

VI. CONCLUSION
● We have concluded that diffusion does work and is a very effective but delicate process. It has
to do with certain uncompromisable variables, such as the thickness of the molecule, state of which the
molecule is in, and the permeability of the area into which it is diffusing. Thanks to our experiments, we
have learned that Diffusion is a process that can happen very rapidly, but may take some time to evenly
disperse the chemicals into the area. We also learned, due to our research, that diffusion happens faster
in molecules with a higher energy level. If you take a glass of cold water and put food coloring in it, it
would take much longer than if you put food coloring in a glass of warm water.

LIBRARY WORK:
 Define diffusion, colloid, net diffusion and dialysis

▪ Diffusion is the process through which molecules move into and out of cells. Diffusion is the net
movement of molecules from a higher concentration area to a lower concentration area. This is owing to
the molecules' random mobility. The concentration gradient is the differential in a substance's
concentration between two locations. The steeper the concentration gradient and the faster the
molecules of a substance disperse, the greater the difference.

▪ A colloid is a combination in which one component is suspended in another by microscopically

distributed insoluble particles. Some definitions, however, stipulate that the particles must be dispersed
in a liquid, while others broaden the concept to include aerosols and gels.

▪ When the flow of solute particles travelling in one direction is greater than the flow of solute particles
flowing in the other direction, this is known as net diffusion.

▪ Excess fluid from the blood is transferred to the dialysate through a membrane until the fluid levels in
both the blood and the dialysate are equal. Dialysis is a similar mechanism to osmosis. The diffusion of a
solvent through a semipermeable membrane is referred to as osmosis.