Y1 IB BIOLOGY I OSMOSIS IN POTATOES LAB

For this practical you have to write a full report with an introduction, procedure,
materials, methods, results and evaluation. Use the additional information to write
the introduction. Use the given material list, and design a step by step procedure.
The procedure should have between 10-15 steps.
When a plant cell is bathed with a solution of the same concentration as its
cytoplasm, its mass and volume remain the same, because water enters and leaves
at the same rate. When samples of tissue are immersed in solutions of different
concentration (molarities), the cells will gain water and mass in solutions of lower
concentrations, and lose water and mass in solutions of higher concentrations. The
concentration of the tissue is equal to that of the solution in which it neither gains
nor loses water.

MATERIALS
Sweet potato (cut off skin, and then cut into 5, 1cm 3 cubes)
Regular potato (cut off skin, and then cut into 5, 1cm 3 cubes)
Salt water solution (0%, 1%, 2%, 5%, 10%)
Paper towel (to dry excess water off of sample)
Electronic balance (Put a watch dish on balance first to keep it clean. It is a clear
glass disc.)
10 test tubes
Test tube rack
Knife (or scalpel from the back sink)
Stopwatch
Dissecting pad (to cut on)
Data collection table (Handout. *We will only do one trial. Ignore trial 2 section.)

INSTRUCTIONS
Get into groups of 2. (Groups of 3 or 1 are okay, but pairs are best.)
You will pass in your own individual procedure to the teacher at the end of the class.
Discuss your procedure with your partner.
Decide which procedure is best, and modify it to fit the new materials list.
Collect the materials and begin the lab.
You will leave the samples in the solutions for 20min.
Record your observations in the data table provided.
Be sure to keep this table as you need to include the original at the back of your lab
report.
You will use the information in the table to you % change in weight. This is what
you will graph.

DATA COLLECTION AND PROCESSING

a) Record and process raw data.
b) Present processed data. *Use the provided graph as a template.

CONCLUSION AND EVALUATION

a) Describe your results in a written form
b) Evaluate your procedures, limitations and weaknesses
c) Suggest improvements to the procedure