The Effect of Solute Concentration Upon the Rate of Osmosis

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The Effect of Solute Concentration Upon the Rate of Osmosis

Aim

To investigate the effect of changing the concentration of sugar solution on the amount of osmosis taking place between the sugar solution and a potato cube with a specified size.

Introduction

If a higher concentrated solution of water is separated by a semi permeable membrane from a lower concentrated solution of water, the water will move to the lower concentrated area of water so that it can create an equilibrium-like state, in which the concentration of water on both sides of the membrane are the same.

The semi permeable membrane will allow smaller molecules such as water, carbon dioxide and oxygen through it, but will not allow larger molecules such as sugar molecules through.

Osmosis can be compared to diffusion, where the higher concentrated particles will attempt to spread themselves around so that the whole area they are in will have a balanced amount of that particle.

Osmosis is very important because it does not require energy for plants to take up in their roots, therefore it is not a form of active transport, which will help plants to