OSMOSIS

Anna Štibingerová

Date of experiment: 9. 11. 2018

Due date: 19. 11. 2018

Lab group:
Kateřina Breznenová, Laura Tomsová

Aim:
To investigate osmosis in yams

Background research:
Osmosis is the movement of water molecules across a selectively permeable membrane from
the region of higher water concentration to the region of lower water concentration.

Hypertonic solution is a solution that has higher osmotic pressure (or has more solutes) than
another solution to which it is compared.

Hypotonic solution is a solution that has lower osmotic pressure (or has less solutes) than
another solution to which it is compared.

Isotonic solution is a solution that has the same salt concentration as cells and blood.

- GCSE Biology (Single Science) - Movement across cell membranes - Revision 7. (n.d.). Retrieved from
https://www.bbc.com/bitesize/guides/zc9tyrd/revision/7
- Main Page. (n.d.). Retrieved November 18, 2018, from https://www.biology-online.org/dictionary

Hypothesis:
The lower the salt concentration in the solution surrounding the discs, the more water will
travel into them, as there is high water potential outside the discs. (Hypertonic solution).
Therefore, the weight of the discs will increase.
On the other hand, when the salt concentration in the solution surrounding the discs is higher,
the more water will travel outside the cell, as the water potential is higher inside. (Hypotonic
solution). Therefore, the weight of the discs will decrease.

In the solution where the water potential is similar outside and inside the discs (isotonic
solution), the weight of the discs will change the least.

Variables:
Independent variable Concentration of the salt solutions
Dependant variable Mass change (%) of the discs
Controlled variable Size of the discs

Amount of salt solution

Time

Materials:
Distilled water
0.2M, 0.4M, 0.6M, 0.8M, 1.0M salt solutions
Weighing scales
Paper towels
Masking tape to label beakers
beakers
Cork borer
Ruler
Plastic wrap
100ml graduated cylinder
Potatoes
Aparatus:

Safety concerns:
Using the cork borer requires a lot of force to use and therefore there is a risk of hurting
yourself or someone else. Furthermore, this experiment requires the usage of a scalpel, which
must be manipulated with caution.

Method
Day One

1. The 100ml solutions are prepared by dissolving salt (5.84g, 4.68g, 3.51g, 2.34g, 1.17g
and 0.00g) in distilled water to achieve 0.0M, 0.2M, 0.4M, 0.6M, 0.8M, 1.0M
solutions.

2. 50ml of each of salt solutions are poured into 12 labeled beakers (0.0M, 0.2M, 0.4M,
0.6M, 0.8M, 1.0M).
 3. A cork borer is used to cut 12 cylinders out of the yams. Then each cylinder is cut into
5 discs. (The yam skin has to be removed).

4. The discs are weighed (each five at once) and then put into the beakers (five discs into
each beaker).

5. The beakers are covered with a plastic wrap to prevent evaporation.

6. Let the beakers stand undisturbed for 45 min.

After 45 min
7. The discs are removed from 6 of the beakers (gently dried with a paper towel) and any
change in weight is recorded.

After 68 hours

8. The discs from the remaining 6 beakers are removed (gently dried with a paper towel)
and any change in weight is recorded.

9. The results are compared.

Results:

Percentage change in mass:

45 minutes
Concentration of the Initial mass (g) Final mass (g) Mass change (%)
solution (mol)
1.0 6.35 6.03 -5
0.8 5.9 5.85 -1
0.6 6.16 6.3 +2
0.4 6.23 6.51 +4
 0.2 6.16 6.42 +4
0.0 6.59 7.1 +8

68 hours
Concentration of the Initial mass (g) Final mass (g) Mass change (%)
solution (mol)
1.0 6.3 5.83 -7
0.8 6.51 6.12 -6
0.6 6.61 6.16 -7
0.4 6 5.46 -9
0.2 5.77 5.98 +4
0.0 6.26 8.26 +32

Dependence of mass change on molar concentration after

45 minutes
10

8
percentage mass change

0
0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1 1.2
-2

-4

-6
Molar concentration
 Dependence of mass change on molar concentration
after 68 hours
35
30
25
percentage mass change

20
15
10
5
0
0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1 1.2
-5
-10
-15
Moral concentration

Evaluation:
We made a couple of errors during out experiment, which is obvious from the errors the graph
is showing. In the first graph, the 0,2M solution does not fit with the rest of the results, as the
percentage mass change was lower than that of 0,4M. While in the second graph there are two
visible errors; 0,6M and 0,4M. A possible explanation of these errors could be that the salt
solutions’ concentrations were measured incorrectly, as well as the weight of the discs.

Conclusion:
Considering the results of the experiment and the graphs above, it is clear that the hypothesis
was right. Although it is not easy to say which of the solutions is closest to the isotonic
solution, as the results contain visible errors. As in the second graph the change of 0,6M and
0,8M and even 1M are more or less the same, while in the first graph, 0,2M and 0,4M are the
same. Therefore, the results of the experiment are very uncertain, if not inconclusive.

Sources:
https://www.bbc.com/bitesize/guides/zc9tyrd/revision/7
https://www.biology-online.org