Testing Osmosis From a Sugar Solution to a Potato
Introduction:
Osmosis is the passage of water molecules from a weaker solution into a stronger solution through a partially permeable membrane.
In this case, Osmosis applies to our practical because we are trying to see if a sugared solution has an effect on potatoes.
Prediction:
I predict that the higher the sugar concentration, water will transfer from the potato into the sugared solution making the potato decrease in weight, and vice versa for a lower sugar concentrations. I believe this will happen because since the solution is diluted with water, the water molecules will transfer over to the stronger solution. Thus occurring osmosis.
Procedure:
For this experiment, I will cork a potato, cut it to size and dry it. The potato bits will be weighed and placed in different concentrations of sugar solutions. I will wait a minimum of thirty minutes, then take the potato pieces out and weigh them again. The results will be recorded.
Preliminary Work:
The preliminary work was done for several reasons, but mainly to test if the experiment would actually work. My first results table was an absolute mess…so the preliminary work made me realize that I needed to be more organized and tidier. In addition, there seemed to be too big of a gap in the numbers. The weight for each test was a few grams off which told me to weigh and dry the potato more accurately. In the preliminary testing, I decided to use 50 ml of solution, but I had to change it to 25ml in the real experiment because 50 ml did not fit into the test tubes. Additionally, instead of using six beakers, I used six test tubes instead. The beakers were unnecessary and of no use to this particular experiment. Otherwise, none of the other apparatus had to be changed. In addition, in the preliminary work, I started taking notes, which were of no use to me in the end. The preliminary work helped me sort unorganised pieces of work and it helped me to see if the way I set up the experiment would actually work.
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Teacher Reviews
Here's what a teacher thought of this essay
In this report of an investigation into the effect of increasing sucrose solution concentration on osmosis in potato tissue, the writer too often strays into everyday language when describing osmosis instead of using scientific language. Examiners, even at GCSE level, want students to use appropriate terminology. By carrying out thorough research online before starting out on an investigation like this, students can learn this language. The writer is to be applauded for carrying out preliminary work, something that few students bother with at GCSE. However, a discussion of control variables was missing, a vital part of any report since it persuades the reader that any changes to the dependent variable were entirely due to changes in the independent variable. It is difficult to assess the quality of the conclusion and evaluation since no results are available. However, with the improvements listed above, this would be an adequate report. 3 stars
