Hypothesis:
Plant cells all have a rigid cell wall around them, made primarily of cellulose. When they take in water by osmosis they begin to swell up, but the strong cell wall stops them bursting. Plant cells become turgid when they are put in hypotonic solutions. The pressure inside the cell rises until the hydrostatic pressure inside the cell is so intense that no more water can enter the cell. The absorption of the water means the cell should increase in mass.
When plant cells are placed in hypertonic salt solutions they lose water by osmosis and they become "flaccid." The water naturally wants to create equilibrium with the surrounding area so the water is drawn out of the cell into the solution. The contents of the potato cells shrink and pull away from the cell wall. The potato cells should lose weight because of the loss of water. These cells are said to be plasmolysed.
When plant cells are placed in a solution which has exactly the same osmotic strength as the cells -an isotonic solution- they are in a state between turgidity and flaccidity called incipient plasmolysis. The cells in an isotonic solution should neither gain nor lose weight in this solution because the cell will lose the same amount of water as it gains.
Plant cells all have a rigid cell wall around them, made primarily of cellulose. When they take in water by osmosis they begin to swell up, but the strong cell wall stops them bursting. Plant cells become turgid when they are put in hypotonic solutions. The pressure inside the cell rises until the hydrostatic pressure inside the cell is so intense that no more water can enter the cell. The absorption of the water means the cell should increase in mass.
When plant cells are placed in hypertonic salt solutions they lose water by osmosis and they become "flaccid." The water naturally wants to create equilibrium with the surrounding area so the water is drawn out of the cell into the solution. The contents of the potato cells shrink and pull away from the cell wall. The potato cells should lose weight because of the loss of water. These cells are said to be plasmolysed.
When plant cells are placed in a solution which has exactly the same osmotic strength as the cells -an isotonic solution- they are in a state between turgidity and flaccidity called incipient plasmolysis. The cells in an isotonic solution should neither gain nor lose weight in this solution because the cell will lose the same amount of water as it gains.
