OSMOSIS AND DIFFUSION

AP Biology

DECEMBER 4, 2014
SABRINA RAMOS
Period 3

Osmosis and Diffusion

Title: Diffusion and Osmosis AP Lab 1
Purpose: The purpose of this activity is to determine the effects of a selectively permeable
membrane on diffusion and osmosis between two solutions separated by a membrane.
Hypothesis: If we add glucose-starch solution to a dialysis tubing bag and submerged it in a cup
of distilled water and IKI solution, then glucose will leave the dialysis tubing bag through pores
into the IKI solution through diffusion. If we add higher concentrations of sucrose to the dialysis
bag, then the net movement of water into the dialysis bag will increase. If we immerse potato
cores in sucrose solutions, then the higher molarity solutions will cause the mass of the
potatoes to decrease.
Procedures: In lab manual
Material: In lab manual
Background Information: All molecules have kinetic energy and are constantly in motion. This
motion causes the molecules to bump into each other and move in different directions. The
result is diffusion. Diffusion is the random movement of molecules from an area of high
concentration to an area of low concentration. This will continue until dynamic equilibrium is
reached; no net movement will occur. Osmosis is a special kind of diffusion. It is the diffusion
of water through a selectively permeable membrane. A selectively permeable membrane
means that the membrane will only allow certain molecules through such as water, small
solutes, oxygen, carbon dioxide, and glucose, because no additional ATP is required. The
membrane will not let ions, nonpolar molecules, or large molecules through because extra ATP
is needed for them to travel across the membrane. Active transport is how molecules (such as
ions) move against the concentration gradient. Additional ATP is required to perform this
process. Water potential is affected by 2 different factors. They are the addition of a solute and
the pressure potential. If a solute is added to the water, then the water potential is lowered. If
more pressure is placed on the water, then the potential is raised. The addition of a solute and
water potential are inversely proportional. Pressure being placed onto the water and the
potential of the water are directly proportional. Solutions can have three relationships with
each other; isotonic, hypertonic, or hypotonic. When the solutions have the same
concentration of solutes, they are isotonic. There is no net change in the amount of water on
each side of the membrane. If the solutions differ in their solute concentrations, the solution
that has the most solute is hypertonic to the other solution. The solution with the smaller
amount of solute is hypotonic to the other solution. The net movement of water will be from
the hypertonic solution to the hypotonic solution. Net movement will occur until dynamic
equilibrium is reached, then there will be no net movement of water.

Data:
TableA-Diffusion of glucose and iodine.
Color

Glucose

Time

Dialysis Bag

Beaker

Dialysis Bag

Beaker

Start

Clear

Amber

Yes

No

After

purple/blue

Amber

Yes

Yes

Dialysis Bag

Dialysis Bag

Change in Mass (g) % Change in Mass

Initial Mass (g)

Final Mass (g)

Water

22.10

22.46

0.36

1.6

0.2 M

20.49

26.37

5.88

28.7

0.4 M

21.57

30.01

8.44

39.1

0.6 M

23.64

38.87

15.23

64.4

0.8 M

23.32

41.89

18.57

79.6

1.0 M

22.84

42.96

20.12

88.1

Table B
Solution

Table C
Solution Temperature

Potato Cylinder

Solution

Initial Temp

Final Temp

Initial Mass
(g)

Final Mass
(g)

Change in
Mass (g)

% Change in
Mass

Water

23

23

2.22

2.93

0.71

32

0.2 M

23

23

2.26

2.45

0.19

8.4

0.4 M

23

23

2.31

1.98

-0.33

-14.3

0.6 M

23

23

2.33

1.57

-0.76

-32.6

0.8 M

23

23

2.18

1.35

-0.83

-38.1

1.0 M

23

23

2.30

1.30

-1

-43.5

Graph
Graph 1 ( Table B)

Percent Change in Mass

100
88.1

90

79.6

% Change in mass

80
64.4

70
60
50
39.1
40
28.7
30
20
10
0
Change

1.6
0

0.2 M

0.4 M

0.6 M

0.8 M

1.0 M

1.6

28.7

39.1

64.4

79.6

88.1

Solution (M)

Graph 2 (TABLE C)

% Change in Mass of Potato Cylinder

40

32

30

% Change In Mass

20

8.4

10
0
-14.3

-10
-20

-32.6

-30

-38.1
-43.5

-40
-50
% Change in Mass

0M

0.2 M

0.4 M

0.6 M

0.8 M

1.0 M

32

8.4

-14.3

-32.6

-38.1

-43.5

Solution (M)

Plant Cell Plasmolysis

Cells in Distilled Water

Cells in 15% NaCl

Conclusion:

1.

Create a Venn diagram comparing osmosis and diffusion.

Osmosis is the spontaneous net

movement of water across a
semipermeable membrane from a
region of low solute concentration to
a solution with a high solute
concentration, down a solute
concentration gradient.
In animals, osmosis influences the
distribution of nutrients and the
release of metabolic waste products.
In plants, osmosis is partially
responsible for the absorption of soil
water and for the elevation of the
liquid to the leaves of the plant.
Moves down concentration gradient

2.

involve a
substance that
moves from an
area of higher
concentration
to an area of
lower
concentration,
which occurs
through a semipermeable
membrane.

Diffusion is a spontaneous
movement of particles from an area
of high concentration to an area of
low concentration
Goes from a high concentration
gradient to a low concentration
gradient
To create energy; Helps in exchange
of gases during respiration,
photosynthesis, and transpiration.

Part A (first table- dialysis bag) of the experiment was a demonstration of diffusion.
Give an example of diffusion occurring in the setup. Do you think osmosis occurred
in this part of the experiment? If yes, explain why you believe this to be.

Osmosis occurred in the setup because both solutions had water and the solutions
were not isotonic. An example of diffusion that occurred in this setup was the iodine
moving from the beaker into the dialysis bag from high concentration to low
concentration through the membrane.

3. Explain exactly what happened when the glucose/starch bag was placed in the iodine
water. Explain in which direction the iodine, glucose and starch moved and why the
movement occurred.
Iodine Potassium Iodide and water enter the bag. This is proven by the color change
(starch test) and the increase in the size of the bag. Glucose left the bag and this is
proven by a positive test on the surrounding water. The data shows what molecules
can and cannot diffuse across a selectively permeable membrane. The color change
showed that the Iodine Potassium Iodide was small enough to pass through the pores
of the membrane. It is shown that the water and glucose solution moved out of the
dialysis bag because water is small enough to pass through the membrane and the
chemstrips tested positive for glucose inside the beaker. The glucose started out inside
the bag and tested negative with the chemstrips inside the beaker before the
immersion.
4. Did the dialysis tubing serve as a selectively permeable membrane? Explain your
answer.
The dialysis tubing did serve as a selectively permeable membrane because it allows
the movement of small molecules like glucose through it but it doesnt allow the
movement of large molecules such as starch.
5.
In part B (table two- the different molarity bags in water), what caused the mass of
the dialysis bags to change? Was there more or less water in the dialysis bags at the
conclusion of the experiment? Explain.
The amount of substance in the bag changed because of the diffusion of water. There
was more water at the end of the experiment.
6.
Was the distilled water in the beakers hypertonic or hypotonic in relation to the
sucrose solutions found in the dialysis bags?
The distilled water in the beakers was hypotonic in relation to the sucrose solutions
found in the dialysis bags.

7. Suppose the dialysis bags were placed in beakers containing a 0.6 M sucrose solution
as opposed to distilled water. How do you think your results would change? Sketch a
graph below to show how the mass of each of the bags would be affected.
My results would be that the dialysis bags would not increase in mass at a large rate
and as long as there in a low concentration, the bags would lose mass and water
because it would be hypotonic inside the bags.

8. What happened when you placed the potato cores in H20, 0.2, 0.4, 0.6, 0.8 and 1.0
molar concentration? Why?
In H2o the potato strips were at the bottom of the beaker because the density of water
is much less than that of the strip. In .2 and .4 and .6 the strips density is getting closer
to that of the water. In .8 and 1.0 the density of the solution is greater than that of the
strip.
9.
Study the graph you have plotted for part C of the experiment. What is important
about the point where the best fit line crosses the X-axis? What is the concentration of
sucrose in your potato?
The point is where it is isotonic, the x is the sucrose content of the strip. The
concentration of the sucrose in the potato is 2.4
10.

Fill in the blanks in the statement below using the following list:

Net gain, low, hypertonic, exit, osmotic, enter, less, hypotonic, high, more, net loss, isotonic (not all
words are used)
If a cell is placed in a __hypertonic____ solution, it has ____less_____ solute in solution than the
surrounding fluid, and will therefore experience a _____net loss_____ of water to its surroundings. This
cell has ______high________ water potential since there is a great deal of ___osmotic____ pressure
causing water to leave the cell. Conversely, a cell sitting in a _____hypotonic__ solution has a __low___
water potential, and since it will experience a ____net gain____ of water, there will be little osmotic
pressure causing water to ___leave____ the cell.

11.
a)

Consider what would happen to a red blood cell (RBC) placed in distilled water:

Which would have the higher concentration of water molecules?

The distilled water would have the higher concentration of water molecules.
Distilled H20 RBC
b)

Which would have the higher water potential?

The distilled water would also have the higher water potential.
Distilled H2O RBC
c)

What would happen to the red blood cell? Why?

The red blood cell would take in a lot of water and might lyse due to pressure inside.
This is because animal cells lack tolerance under hypotonic situations.

12. What is plasmolysis?

Plasmolysis is the separation of the plasma membrane from the cell wall in a plant
cell.
13. Why did the onion cells plasmolyze?
The environment around the cell was hypertonic to the cell so water left the cell to
reach dynamic equilibrium with the NaCl solution. With all the water leaving the cell,
the cell membrane separated from its cell wall.
14. In the winter, grass often dies near roads that have been salted to remove ice. What
causes this to happen?
The salt causes the grasss environment to become hypertonic, and the water leaves
the plant cells, causes withering and eventually death of the plant. The high
concentration of salt in the soil also speeds the death of the plant.
15. What are the effects on cells when they are placed in a hypotonic solution,
hypertonic solution, and isotonic solution?
If you place a animal cell into a hypotonic solution it will swell or burst. In a hypertonic
solution it will shrink. In a isotonic solution it will stay the same. If you place a plant cell
into a hypotonic solution it will swell inside the cell wall increasing the turgor pressure.
In a hypertonic solution the cytoplasm inside the cell wall will shrink. In a isotonic
solution it will stay the same.
16. Why cant humans drink salt water for hydration?
We get thirsty when the concentration of salts in our body goes up. So if you drink salt
water (with a very high conc. of salt, like sea water), you'll end up with a yet higher
concentration of salts in your body instead of diluting them. Furthermore, due to
osmosis from cells, they'll get dehydrated trying to fix the water level in the blood.

Summary: Our results supported our predictions in this experiment. The iodine
diffused through the tubing and reached equilibrium, but the molecules of sugar and
starch were too large to diffuse through the tubing. The tubing was supposed to create
a plasma membrane, with the internal cell being the sugar/starch solution and the
water with iodine being the extracellular matrix. However, this was slightly unrealistic.
The tubing was nonliving, so it only discriminated passage according to size, not to
polarity of the molecules. Also, it had no proteins to allow passage of other molecules
that could not normally pass through the membrane via diffusion. In a plasma
membrane, proteins facilitate diffusion of polar molecules that cannot pass through the
phospholipid bilayer themselves, and proteins embedded in the membrane are used for
active transport, the moving of materials against their concentration gradient, also. Also
not available to the dialysis tubing are the processes of endocytosis and exocytosis, the
way that a plasma membrane allows passage of large molecules. In exocytosis,
macromolecules are enclosed in a vesicle that fuses with the membrane and spills its
contents into the outside of the cell. In endocytosis, the cell does the opposite; it takes
in large macromolecules and transports them into the cell inside vesicles formed from
the plasma membrane. In this lab, I learned more about diffusion and osmosis through
the cell membrane and also through organisms and plants. I also learned completely
about water potential, what it is, and how it shows where water is moving (whether it is
moving in or out of a cell or organism). I learned more about how cell membranes are
semipermeable and only allow certain materials in and out of it. Also, I learned how not
all materials can fit through the membranes pores and are rebounded off of the
membrane. I learned more about osmosis and how water passed through the dialysis
bag in activity B to the sucrose solution. I learned in activity C about the water potential
and net movement of water and how it moves toward higher amounts of sucrose
solution more than lower amounts. Errors in this lab could include clogging of the
dialysis bag pores with oil from our skin when rubbing the tubing to open it. Also, there
could have been human error in calculations, blotting dialysis bags dry, and not leaving
enough room in the bags for expansion. Electronic errors include measuring errors when
using an electronic balance.