Fair Test
To make this experiment a fair on I will have make sure that I make the concentrations of the solutions as accurate as possible every time. This is also true for the mass and length of the potato slices. One big factor that could seriously determine the results is by making sure the potato slices are fully in contact with solution while the experiment is proceeding. To make sure the pieces of potato are the same length and mass I will use a ruler and some sensitive scales which will be set to O.O before I place the potato pieces on it. If I don’t follow these procedures I may obtain inaccurate results.
Safety
This experiment is not really dangerous but precautions must be taken all times here are a few rules I will follow to decrease the chance of injury
- Do not sit down during the experiment
- Put all stools out of the way
- Be careful with the sharp scalpel
Apparatus
- Test tubes
- Test tube rack
- Sucrose solution
- Distilled water
- Scalpel
- Ruler
- Paper
- Scales
- Core borer
- 25cm3 measuring cylinder
- Cutting tile
- Potatoes
- Tweezers
Diagram
1) Concentration=Distilled water (0cm³) Sucrose solution (10cm³)
2) Concentration=Distilled water (2cm³) Sucrose solution (8cm³)
3) Concentration=Distilled water (4cm³) Sucrose solution (6cm³)
4) Concentration=Distilled water (6cm³) Sucrose solution (4cm³)
5) Concentration=Distilled water (8cm³) Sucrose solution (2cm³)
6) Concentration=Distilled water (10cm³) Sucrose solution (0cm³)
Diagram
1 2 3 4 5 6
Method
- Use the core borer to get 12 pieces of potato approximately 2 cm long
- Dry the potato using the tissue paper
- Then weigh the potato slices using the scales
- Measure out all the different concentration above 2 times using the measuring cylinder
- Put each concentration into the a single small test tube
- Place the potato pieces into the solutions, put a bung in the top and leave for 24 hours
- After the 24 hours remove the potato pieces from the tubes using the tweezers
- Dry the pieces using more tissue paper
- Now record the length and mass of the slices
- Compare the before mass and length to the after results to gain results
Results
Average
Graph
Conclusion
From looking at my results I can see that the lower concentration of the sucrose solution the more water was carried using the process of osmosis. Therefore I can say that my prediction was correct.
Evaluation
I believe that my results were successfully accurate enough to show that the lower concentration of the sucrose solution the more water was carried using the process of osmosis. I could extend the investigation by gaining more accurate results. To this I could repeat the experiment yet again. I could have also made it more accurate by also taking into account that I had to dry the potatoes, I could have done this by making sure the potato was properly dried. Otherwise the mass of the potatoes would have varied more. I made very good use of the apparatus to gain the most accurate results possible.
Owen Parry Biology coursework 11DB Page
