The Effect of Sucrose Concentration on Osmosis.

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The Effect of Sucrose Concentration on Osmosis

Aim

The aim of this experiment is to find out the effect sucrose concentration has on the mass of a potato cell and the rate of osmosis. We also want to find the concentration of the cell sap in a potato.

Introduction

If water is withheld from a flowering plant, the flowers wilt. If bacterial cells are placed in concentrated salt water solution, they collapse and die. Human red blood cells placed in fresh water expand and burst. These are examples of the effects of osmosis, the process by which water passes through a cell membrane.

Osmosis is a specific form of diffusion that only affects water molecules. It is the movement of water molecules from an area of high concentration, to an area of low concentration through a semi-permeable membrane.

An example of osmosis occurs when a sugar solution and water, top, are separated by a semi-permeable membrane. The solution's large sugar molecules cannot pass through the membrane into the water. Small water molecules move through the membrane until equilibrium is established, bottom.

Osmosis is possible because of the constant state of motion