University of Guyana

Faculty of Natural Sciences

Department of Biology

Course code: Bio 1200

Lab Title: Osmosis
Lab Number: 7

Name: Mario Joseph

USI: 1042405
Lab Session: Thursday 3:15
Date submitted: 03rd/03/2023
Title: Osmosis

Aim: To observe osmosis in plant cells

Objectives:

● To investigate the passage of water through the plasma membrane of potatoes.

Introduction:

Osmosis is the process by which molecules of a solvent flow from a low-concentration solution to a high-

concentration solution over a semi-permeable membrane (Byju's, 2022). Osmosis is very important in living

organisms because it influences the distribution of nutrients and the discharge of metabolic waste products (Osmosis:

Biological Significance of Osmosis | Infoplease, 2019).

Diffusion is the movement of molecules down a concentration gradient from a higher concentration region to a lower

concentration region (BYJU'S, 2020). Diffusion is crucial in biological systems because it helps them to get the

valuable elements they need to obtain energy and expand, as well as get rid of waste materials (BBC, 2022).

Active transport is described as the transfer of molecules from an area of lower concentration to a region of higher
concentration against a gradient or an obstruction using external energy (BYJU'S, 2017). Active transport is critical
for cell survival because it allows the cell to move substances against the concentration gradient, which means
molecules are transported from the low concentration area to the high concentration area of the surrounding
environment (Vedantu, 2023). It enables the cell to maintain the proper balance of substances without having to
consider the concentration of those substances outside the cell (Vedantu, 2023).
Osmosis affects plant and animal cells in the same way, but with different results. If the solute concentration within

and outside the cell is the same, there is no net water flow into or out of the cells (Bergtrom, 2022). The extracellular

medium and the cytosol are said to be isotonic. The medium is said to be hypotonic to (less concentrated than) the

cytosol when water diffuses into the cells from a low-solute medium. The flow of water inside a cell reduces the

cytosol-solute concentration in this scenario (Bergtrom, 2022). Animal cells swell and burst in a hypotonic solution.

Animal cells in hypertonic solutions (with higher solute concentrations than the cytosol) shrivel up as water exits the

cell. Plant cells, like animal cells, exhibit directional water movement when exposed to hypotonic or hypertonic

solutions, but with some key differences due to their cell walls (Bergtrom, 2022).

Water enters plant cells in hypotonic solutions, moving into the cytosol and then into water vacuoles known as

tonoplasts. This causes an increase in osmotic pressure (water pressure) in the tonoplasts. Turgor pressure is created

by the expanding tonoplast, which compresses the cytosol against the cell wall. Instead of bursting, the cells, and thus
the plant tissues, stiffen and become turgid. Water cannot enter plant cells indefinitely, so it stops entering when the

osmotic pressure outside the cells and the turgor pressure inside the cells reach equilibrium (Bergtrom, 2022). Plant

cells (like animal cells) lose water in hypertonic medium. The resulting shrinkage of the plasma membrane away from

the cell walls is known as plasmolysis, and at several points, bits of plasma membrane remain tightly attached to the

plant cell wall (Bergtrom, 2022). These have become flaccid as a result of water loss and thus a loss of the turgor

pressure required to keep leaves and stems upright. The force per unit area (i.e., pressure) required to prevent the

passage of water across a semipermeable membrane from a hypotonic to a hypertonic solution is defined as osmotic

or turgor pressure (Bergtrom, 2022).

Materials:

Irish potato

Ruler

Balance

Petri dishes

5% NaCl solution

Distilled water

Stopwatch

Paper towel

Method:

1. An Irish potatoes was peeled and cut into strips of 5 cm long, 2 cm wide and 2 cm thick.

2. Each potato strip was weighed and measured; the initial mass and length was recorded

3. 3 Petri dishes was prepared by placing one potato strip in each petri dish. 2 strips was placed in Petri dish A,

which have equal volume of 5% NaCl solution, B= distilled water and 1 strip was placed in an empty petri

dish.

4. A timer was started.

5. After 15 minutes the strips were removed and dab on the paper towel.

6. Each strip was observed by touch and it’s texture, length and mass was recorded.

Results recorded after 15 mins:

Strip in distilled water

● Description - Turgid

● Mass - Increase in mass

● Length - Increase in length

Strips in 5% NaCl solution

● Description – Flaccid

● Mass - Decrease in the mass

● Length - Decrease in length.

Strips in Air

● Description - Slightly flaccid. This strip is the control and theoretically does not change in texture. However,

in reality, it loses water by evaporation.

● Mass - Changes were minimal

● Length - Changes were minimal

Discussion:

An isotonic solution has the same osmolarity (or solute concentration) as another solution (BD Editors, 2017). A

hypertonic solution has a higher osmotic pressure than another solution. In other words, a hypertonic solution has a

higher concentration or number of solute particles outside a membrane than inside it (Helmenstine, 2019). A

hypotonic solution is one that contains a lower concentration of solute than other solutions, as measured across a

semipermeable membrane. This solution has a lower solute concentration and a higher total water movement in the

cell (BYJU'S, n.d.).

Any sodium chloride (NaCl) solution in water with a concentration of NaCl greater than that found in physiological

saline (0.9% w/v) is said to be hypersonic (RxList, 2021), so 5% Sodium Chloride is hypersonic.

If one solution has a lower concentration of dissolved solutes than another, it is hypotonic to the other. Pure distilled

water has been evaporated to remove any dissolved solutes and contains no dissolved solutes at all (study.com, 2023).

As a result, regardless of the solute concentration in another solution, pure distilled water will remain hypotonic to it

as long as the other solution has a nonzero solute concentration (study.com, 2023).

Tonicity applies to living cells because it provides insight into how cell content will behave in various environments,

such as dehydration. Maintaining this balance of water and solutes is critical to cell health. If a cell lacks sufficient

water, the extracellular fluid becomes isotonic or hypertonic, causing water to exit the plant's cells. This causes a loss
of turgor pressure, which you may have noticed as wilting (Khan Academy, n.d.). When cells are placed in an isotonic

environment, the pressure inside and outside of the cell is equal. As a result, there is no movement of water from or

into the cell, and it retains its shape (HydrateM8, 2020).

The potato strip became turgid in distilled water because the potato absorbs water when placed in distilled water. The

water is attempting to dilute the salt within the potato, so it will move from a high concentration area to a low

concentration area until equilibrium is reached.

Because 5% NaCl is hypersonic (high in salt), an unequal distribution of salt concentration will cause water to move

out of the potato strips and into the NaCl solution, causing the potato strips to shrink.

Tonicity requires control because it governs the movement of essential ions and water in and out of cells. If the

concentration is too high or too low, the cell in question may die prematurely.

Conclusion/s:

It can be concluded that osmosis was observed in cells where tonicity plays an integral role in regulating essential ions

and water, thereby extending the cells' life span.

Reference List:

BBC. (2022). Importance of Diffusion to Living Organisms - Transport across Membranes - National 5 Biology

Revision. BBC Bitesize. https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/guides/zqdhjty/revision/3#:~:text=Diffusion%20is

%20important%20to%20cells

Bergtrom, G. (2022, May 9). 17.3: Osmosis. Biology LibreTexts.

https://bio.libretexts.org/Under_Construction/Cell_and_Molecular_Biology_(Bergtrom)/

17%3A_Membrane_Function/17.03%3A_Osmosis

BYJU'S. (2017, October 25). Active Transport. BYJUS; Byju’s. https://byjus.com/biology/active-transport/

BYJU'S. (2020). What Is Diffusion? - Definition, Types & Examples Of Diffusion. BYJUS.

https://byjus.com/biology/diffusion/

Byju's. (2022). What Is Osmosis? - Definition, Types, Osmotic Pressure. BYJU’S. https://byjus.com/biology/osmosis/
BD Editors. (2017, February 9). Isotonic Solution. Biology Dictionary. https://biologydictionary.net/isotonic-

solution/

BYJU’S. (n.d.). What is a Hypotonic Solution? - BYJU’S. BYJUS. https://byjus.com/neet/hypotonic-solution/

Helmenstine, A. M. (2019). Do You Know How to Identify a Hypertonic Solution? ThoughtCo.

https://www.thoughtco.com/hypertonic-definition-and-examples-605232

HydrateM8. (2020, October 28). Tonicity: What Does it Mean and Is It Important? HydrateM8.

https://hydratem8.com/tonicity-what-does-it-mean-and-is-it-important/#:~:text=Having%20a%20good

%20understanding%20of

Khan Academy. (n.d.). Tonicity: hypertonic, isotonic & hypotonic solutions (article). Khan Academy.

https://www.khanacademy.org/science/ap-biology/cell-structure-and-function/mechanisms-of-transport-

tonicity-and-osmoregulation/a/osmosis#:~:text=If%20a%20cell%20is%20placed%20in%20a%20hypertonic

%20solution%2C%20water

RxList. (2021, February 3). Hypertonic Saline (3% and 5% Sodium Chloride Injection): Uses, Dosage, Side Effects,

Interactions, Warning. RxList. https://www.rxlist.com/hypertonic-saline-drug.htm#:~:text=3%25%20and

%205%25%20Sodium%20Chloride%20Injection%2C%20USP%20is%20strongly

Study.com. (2023). Why is pure distilled water the most hypotonic solution of all? Study.com.

https://homework.study.com/explanation/why-is-pure-distilled-water-the-most-hypotonic-solution-of-all.html

osmosis: Biological Importance of Osmosis | Infoplease. (2019). InfoPlease.

https://www.infoplease.com/encyclopedia/science/chemistry/concepts/osmosis/biological-importance-of-

osmosis

Vedantu. (2023, March 6). What is the significance of active transport to the class 11 biology CBSE.

Www.vedantu.com. https://www.vedantu.com/question-answer/significance-of-active-transport-to-the-class-

11-biology-cbse-608d5f194de8c91e10c6bef0

END of LAB