General Biology

Osmosis Lab
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Group Member:
Sittisuparoge, Supitchayanut, Pat
Yongpraphat, Nannaphat, Dream
Charoenjarasrerk, Kunlaya, Petch
Napavorakul, Worakamon, Mos
1009
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Date: 2017, March 13

Purpose: To observe what will jellies and potatoes interact or change in mass and
volume, after we put jellies and potatoes each in hypertonic and hypotonic solution
separately.

Hypothesis: If the solution is a hypotonic solution compare with the cell or

substances, then water will go into the cell and the cell will swell.

Marterial List:

6 Beakers (3 for jelly, 3 for potato)

Electronic Balance
Distilled water
Concentrated salt water
3 Jellies
3 Potato pieces
Calculator
Knife
Weighing paper
Markers
Gloves
Lab coat
Goggles
Procedure / Methods

1. Collect the materials that your group needs (3 Jellies and Half a Potato)
2. Use the knife to cut the potato into 3 equal pieces
3. Use the electronic balance to find the mass of your Jelly and pieces of potato.
Remember to lay down a piece of weighing paper and set to zero
4. Record your data
5. Record descriptive observations about the jelly and potato prior to the
experiment.
6. Measure the initial volume of the jelly and the potato and record your data
7. Fill your 1st beaker halfway with distilled water. Put one of your jelly into the
beaker. Set the beaker aside for 1 hour. Label the beaker using marker.
8. Fill your 2nd beaker with concentrated salt solution halfway. Put your 2nd jelly
into the beaker. Set the beaker aside for 1 hour. Label the beaker using
marker.
9. Put your 3rd jelly into an empty beaker without putting anything in it. That
should be your control.
10. Fill your 4th beaker halfway with distilled water. Put one of your potato pieces
into the beaker. Set the beaker aside for 1 hour. Label the beaker using
marker.
11. Fill your 5th beaker with concentrated salt solution halfway. Put your 2nd
potato pieces into that beaker. Set the beaker aside for 1 hour. Label the
beaker using marker.
12. Place your last piece of potato pieces into last beaker, empty. That is your
control for the potato. Label the beaker.
13. Make sure you label all the beakers distilled water or concentrated salt
solution with some markers
14. After one hour, come back and look at each of the beakers and record the
data volume and mass of both the jellies in two beakers and both the potato in
two other beakers.
15. Also record the descriptive data for what the jelly and the potato look like now
after being soaker for an hour
16. Calculate the percent change in size of each jelly and potato
a. Percent change in height (Height after - Height before/ Height before x
100% = ?)
b. Percent change in width
c. Percent change in length
d. Percent change in volume
e. Percent change in mass
Flow Chart
 Mass and volume of potatoes before placed in solutions

# type of solution Mass (g.) Volume (mL.)

Hypertonic solution 2.44 g. 3 mL.

Hypotonic solution 2.31 g. 2.5 mL.

Control 2.24 g. 3 mL.

Mass and volume of jellies before placed in solutions

# type of solution Mass (g.) Volume (mL.)

Hypertonic solution 5.08 g. 4 mL.

Hypotonic solution 5.07 g. 4 mL.

Control 5.06 g. 4 mL.

Mass and volume of potatoes after placed in solutions

# type of solution Mass (g.) Volume (mL.)

Hypertonic solution 2.04 g. 2 mL.

Hypotonic solution 2.65 g. 3 mL.

Control 2.24 g. 3 mL.

Mass and volume of jellies after placed in solutions

# type of solution Mass (g.) Volume (mL.)

Hypertonic solution 4.34 g. 3 mL.

Hypotonic solution 6.98 g. 5.2 mL.

Control 5.06 g. 4 mL.

 Mass of potatoes and jellies before and after soaked in solutions

Volume of potatoes and jellies before and after soaked in solutions

 Changing of mass and volume after soaked in solutions

* For hypertonic solution, they are percentages of decreasing *

Analysing Results Questions:

1. What happened to the jellies after being soaked in distilled water and salt
water for an hour? Why? Be descriptive and detailed in your answer. Use your
knowledge of membrane transport.
that soaked in distilled water

Answer: We observed the jelly became larger and heavier than the jelly in salt
water. The body of the gummy bear itself is like a semi-permeable membrane. The
solute molecule in the gummy bear body cant get out but the liquid molecules can
go inside the gummy bear. Therefore, its like the semi-permeable process.
Nevertheless, the gummy bear in the salt water, as we have been observing for a
long time, we saw that the gummy bear got smaller and some part of the surface of
gummy bear is peeling out. Water and other liquid molecules is the major part of the
body of the gummy bear. Therefore, some part of the gummy bear is peeling out.

2. What happened to the potato after being soaked in distilled water and salt
water for an hour? Be descriptive and detailed in your answer. Use your
knowledge of membrane transport.

Answer: Potato in distilled water, is hypertonic compared with distilled water.

The water went into the potato. It likes a process in the cell that called osmosis,
which is the movement of water across the semipermeable membrane, for example
red blood cells in water, red blood cells are hypertonic compared with water, then
water try to move in red blood cells. This is the same process with potato and
distilled water. While, potato in salt water, tonicity in potato is less than tonicity in salt
water, then the water from potato went out to the salt water.

Conclusion: When the substances; potatoes and jellies, are hypertonic compare with
the solution, the substances will gain net water while the substances that are
hypotonic will lose net water, this process is called osmosis. According to the
experiment, the potatoes and jellies are represented as cell membrane which is semi
- permeable, because cell membrane let some substances go in and out to maintain
balance (homeostasis).
Worklog

References
BCC News,(2017). Movement across cell membranes - Revision three.
Retrieved March 08, 2017 from:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/education/guides/zc9tyrd/revision/3

Antranikorg,(2012). Movement of substances across cell membranes.

Retrieved March 08, 2017 from:
http://antranik.org/movement-of-substances-across-cell-membranes/