Adrian Avanzado

H. Biology, Period 2
Mr. Heston
11/18/14
OSMOSIS LAB
Introduction: Osmosis is described as the diffusion of water across a selectively permeable membrane
in response to a differing overall solute concentration. It involves cells and their sizes, as well as the
solutions in which they are placed in. Cells will react differently according to these solutions. For
example, some may grow in size and even explode in one solution while others may shrivel up in
another. These solutions can be described as either hypotonic or hypertonic, when compared to the
cells overall concentration. A hypotonic solution has a lower solute concentration compared to the cell,
whereas a hypertonic solution has a higher solute concentration when compared. As stated before,
these different solutions will instigate different reactions from the cell that is placed within it. This lab
has many connections to this concept and it revolves around it as well.
Purpose: The purpose of this lab is to see how osmosis can affect the size of cells, though on a much
larger scale. In this case, an egg would represent a cell.
Materials: Vinegar, Distilled water, fructose syrup, weight scale (grams), egg, cup, pencil and paper for
observations and data.
Method: This lab took several days to complete. We first took a cup and placed an egg inside of it. We
then placed several amounts of vinegar into the cup, until the egg was full enveloped by the substance.
(This was done in order to remove the eggs shell.) Then, we poured the vinegar out of the cup and we
washed the cup and the egg. Then, we let it rest at a specified location for several days (approx. 2). We
then observed the eggs new state in terms of appearance, and took note of it. Then, we weighed it and
after doing so, we wrote it all down under the category labelled Initial in the table and placed it back
into the cup. We poured distilled water until the egg was surrounded by a new liquid once again. This
process continued until we weighed and measured the eggs weight after being surrounded by fructose
syrup after some number of days. Then, we simply disposed of the egg and the cup.
Data:
Egg (solution type)
Initial
Distilled HO

Fructose Syrup

Observation
Soft, with a translucent surface
Membrane felt stronger and
more reinforced. It seemed to
be more solid and sturdy. It also
felt much larger.
Felt like a plastic bag.
Membrane was undoubtedly
weaker when compared to
previous observations.

Weight of egg (g)

72.5 g
72.25 g

41.8 g

Data Analysis: According to the data table above, there are noticeable differences regarding the egg
after being within each liquid after a certain amount of time. For example, when comparing the initial
weight of the egg to its new appearance and characteristics after being placed in fructose syrup, you can
see many differences. The egg lost about 30 grams of its initial weight and the texture of its membrane
highly differed as well. The initial egg had the highest overall weight, and the egg after being placed in
distilled water seemed to have the hardest membrane when compared to the other egg results. The egg
in the fructose syrup evidently had the least weight and also had the weakest membrane. So, it seems
the egg changed from its shell-less form to a stronger shape and form, then drastically to its weakest
form yet.
Conclusion: In conclusion, I assume that the fructose syrup is a hypertonic solution, whereas the distilled
water is a hypotonic solution. I have come to this conclusion since a cell would shrink/shrivel up when
placed in a hypertonic solution, and the egg revealed a similar reaction when it was placed in the syrup.
Also, a cell would inflate when placed in a hypotonic solution (in order for both solutions to be isotonic;
same applies to cells and hypertonic solutions), and the egg yet again reacted in a very similar way when
it was placed in distilled water. Therefore, I believe that this lab was successful and showed how cells
react when placed in different solutions, though on a much more interactive level.

The illustration or diagram above shows how a normal blood cell reacts to different solutions. As you
can see, it is similar to the reactions that the egg produced when it was placed within different solutions
as well.