Osmosis Investigation
Introduction
The word osmosis comes from the Latin word 'endosmosis', and is the name given to the process when a solute passes through a semi-permeable membrane from a high concentration (a dilute solution) to a low concentration (a concentrated solution) to equalise the number of solute particles on each side of the membrane. A semi-permeable membrane is a membrane that has pores large enough to let through some particles and not others. A good example is a living cell.
I am conducting a simple scientific experiment to test the rate of osmosis through living potato cells. I have to use living cells because if the potatoes had been boiled (killed), the cells would not take in water because they would have been destroyed, and therefore osmosis would not be possible. I am gong to place fresh potato chips into boiling tubes full of distilled water at room temperature, which contain different concentrations of salt or sugar. I predict that the more concentrated the solution is with either salt or sugar, the heavier in mass the potato chip will be when it is removed from the water after 10 minutes. I am confident in my prediction because after studying the effects of osmosis in cells, I know that the water particles in the solution that the chip is placed in will naturally be absorbed by the cells of the chip, giving the chip a bigger mass than it originally had.
First, I will have to do a preliminary experiment to find out whether dissolving salt or sugar into the water will make a better investigation.
Preliminary Experiment
Equipment-
-Boiling Tubes
-Spatula
-Top Pan Balance
-Paper Towels
-Measuring Cylinders
-Stopwatch
-Scalpel
-Salt
-Sugar
-Test Tube Racks
-Potatoes
-Distilled Water
Method-
) Using a scalpel, cut chips from the potatoes measuring 1.4cm x 1.4cm x 4.0cm (These measurements must be used throughout the whole investigation so that the chips will fit in the boiling tubes)
Introduction
The word osmosis comes from the Latin word 'endosmosis', and is the name given to the process when a solute passes through a semi-permeable membrane from a high concentration (a dilute solution) to a low concentration (a concentrated solution) to equalise the number of solute particles on each side of the membrane. A semi-permeable membrane is a membrane that has pores large enough to let through some particles and not others. A good example is a living cell.
I am conducting a simple scientific experiment to test the rate of osmosis through living potato cells. I have to use living cells because if the potatoes had been boiled (killed), the cells would not take in water because they would have been destroyed, and therefore osmosis would not be possible. I am gong to place fresh potato chips into boiling tubes full of distilled water at room temperature, which contain different concentrations of salt or sugar. I predict that the more concentrated the solution is with either salt or sugar, the heavier in mass the potato chip will be when it is removed from the water after 10 minutes. I am confident in my prediction because after studying the effects of osmosis in cells, I know that the water particles in the solution that the chip is placed in will naturally be absorbed by the cells of the chip, giving the chip a bigger mass than it originally had.
First, I will have to do a preliminary experiment to find out whether dissolving salt or sugar into the water will make a better investigation.
Preliminary Experiment
Equipment-
-Boiling Tubes
-Spatula
-Top Pan Balance
-Paper Towels
-Measuring Cylinders
-Stopwatch
-Scalpel
-Salt
-Sugar
-Test Tube Racks
-Potatoes
-Distilled Water
Method-
) Using a scalpel, cut chips from the potatoes measuring 1.4cm x 1.4cm x 4.0cm (These measurements must be used throughout the whole investigation so that the chips will fit in the boiling tubes)
