Date:

Title: Osmosis
Hypothesis: Higher concentrations of solutions will result in a reduction in mass and length
of potato sticks due to the process of osmosis

Aim: To investigate the effect of salt solutions on the length of potato strips through osmosis

Apparatus: Potato, beaker, water, salt, measuring cylinder, thermometer, ruler, clear plastic,
corkborer, scale, paper towel, electronic balance, razor

Method:
1. Obtain three beakers and label them as distilled water, 0.5M salt solution and 1M salt
solution.
2. Pour 50ml of water into each beaker. Record the initial temperature of each solution
for each beaker.
3. Use the corkborer and razor to obtain six uniform pieces of potato. Ensure they are of
the same length and width.
4. Use the ruler to obtain the height and the electronic balance to measure the weight of
each potato strip. Record data in a suitable table format.
5. Place two strips of potato in each beaker solution ensuring that they were fully
submerged in each solution.
6. Remove potato strips from each measuring cylinder after one hour and dry them with
paper towel.
7. Remeasure the length and mass of each potato strips. Note the texture change.

Variables:

Independent: Concentration of solution

Dependent: Final length of potato strips and mass of potato strips

Controlled: Initial length and mass of potato strips, volume of solutions used.
 Expected Results

Osmosis refers to the movement of water molecules across a membrane trying to achieve
equilibrium. If the concentration of salt is greater in the solution than in the potato, then there
is less water in the solution. This means that the water from the potato will pass out of the
potato in effort to achieve a balance. If there is less salt in the solution than in the potato (so
more water outside of the potato), then water will pass into the potato.

Treatment Results

TABLE SHOWING THE CHANGES IN MASS AND LENGTH OF POTATO STIPS

PLACED IN DIFFERENT SOLUTIONS.

Concentr Initi Final Chan Aver Initial Final Avera Differe Noted
ation of al Mas ge in age Length Length/ ge nce in changed
salt Mas s/g mass chang of cm length/ length in
solution/ s/g /g e in Potato/ cm (+ or – texture
M mass/ cm cm)
g

0.5

Perform calculations for one concentration for the:

1. Change in mass
2. Average change in mass
3. Change in length
4. Average change in length
5. Difference in change in length
Limitations

Variation in plant material: Differences in the composition and thickness of plant tissues may
affect the rate and extent of osmosis.
External factors: Temperature, light exposure, and atmospheric pressure could influence the
rate of osmosis.
Precaution

1. Sharp knife and peeler should be taken with caution to prevent injury.
2. Avoid spills of substances, any spills should be clean at the same time to avoid
accidents.
3. Take caution when transporting glassware or beakers to prevent them from breaking