Bio 11.

1 Experiment Proposal

Abarientos, Kenna
Aram, Noelle Mei
Gamboa, Alexis, Jade
Miranda,Danna Marie

INTRODUCTION

Cell is the simplest and smallest unit of life. All living things are made of cells. The human

body is made of billions of tiny cells each surrounded by a selectively permeable membrane. The

cell's membrane separates the cell from everything that surrounds it. The cell's membrane is

"selectively permeable" since it only selects certain substances to pass through.

Osmosis has an important function in the regulation of cells inside the human body.

Osmosis is the diffusion of water across a selectively permeable membrane. The direction of

movement of water is from higher concentration to lower concentration of solutes. In order for the

cells to live, it should have an equal concentration of solute inside the cell and outside the cells.

(Campbell 2008)

Osmosis is simply diffusion through a membrane. Substances will naturally try to "even

out" meaning that, if they are able to move through the membrane, they will try and obtain the

same density on either side of the membrane. Once the concentration is equal on both sides of

the membrane, then the substance has achieved equilibrium.

Solutes are dissolved substances in a solution. In osmosis, there are only molecules of

solutes that are able to pass through the membrane. Example of solutes are glucose, starch, and

NaCl. Glucose and NaCl are examples of micromolecules which enable to pass through the

membrane and starch is an example of macromolecules.

Moreover, osmosis also happens in eggs. The eggshell consists of three-layered structure

known as the cuticle layer, spongy calcareous layer, and inner lamellar layer. The spongy and

inner lamellar layer forms the protein fibers bonded to calcium carbonate crystals. These two
layers are also constructed in a way that forms circular openings or pores. These pores allows

portion of water and gasses to pass through. Also, eggshell membranes exhibit semi-permeability.

This is due to the two membranes, the thick and thin membranes, that forms a lattice network of

protein fibers which are water-insoluble (Tsai 2005).

Osmosis of water is better in the eggshell membrane than in the eggshell. In the study of

Sparks and Broad 1984, shell-less egg gained more water compared to eggs with shell when

immersed in water. The difference is because of the presence of cuticle in eggshell that hinders

water penetration. The acetic acid in the vinegar reacts with the calcium carbonate in eggshell.

These association breaks calcium and carbonate resulting in dissociation of the eggshell

(Johnson 2017).

The figure below shows a picture of an ordinary egg(left) and shell-less egg(right) which

will be used in the experiment:

FIGURE 1. Ordinary egg and shell-less egg.

This study aims to examine the semi-permeability of the eggshell membrane through the

movement of different solute concentration inside and outside of the egg. The specific objectives

to this experiment include examination if the eggshell membrane demonstrates a good model of

semi-permeability and describe the effect of the sizes of solutes to the movement of water inside

and outside of the egg.

 This study will be conducted in room C-117, Institute of Biological Sciences, University of

the Philippines, Los Baños.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Materials:

10 average-size jars 400mL 40% glucose solution

10 250-mL beaker 400mL 10% NaCl solution

10 eggs 400mL 1% boiled starch solution

2 L vinegar 400mL dH2O with 2 drops of HCl

Electronic Balance 400mL corn syrup

Procedure:

 Place each egg separately in a jar containing 200mL vinegar. Observe the

formation of bubbles at the surface of the eggshell.

 place the beakers in a safe place. After 24 hours, the vinegar should be replaced, and

the eggs will be submerged for another two to seven days until the eggshell is fully

dissolved.

 Obtain the initial weight (grams) of each egg.

 Place each egg into respective 250-mL beaker with the following solutions: 1 and 2-

40% glucose solution, 3 and 4- 10% NaCl Solution, 5 and 6- 1% boiled starch solution, 7

and 8- dH2O with 2 drops of HCl, 9 and 10- corn syrup.

 For all set-ups, weight (grams) of the eggs will be measured and recorded every three

(3) hours for twelve (12) hours using an electronic balance.

 The initial and final weight in grams will be used for the computation of the change in mass

for each set-up using the formula:

S = Final Mass (g) - Initial Mass (g)

The percent change in mass of the egg in each set-up will be determined using the

formula:

Percent Change in mass = (Mass Difference (g))/(Initial Mass (g)) x 100%

The average percent change in mass of the egg each type of solution used in set-up will

be determined using the formula:

Average Percent Change in Mass =

(Average Mass (Replicate 1) + Average Mass (Replicate 2))/2

Weight of the Egg (grams)

Time Beaker with Beaker with Beaker with Beaker with Beaker with
(hrs) 40% glucose 10% NaCl 1% boiled dH2O with 2 corn syrup
solution Solution starch solution drops of HCl
Replicate Replicate Replicate Replicate Replicate Replicate Replicate Replicate Replicate Replicate
1 2 1 2 1 2 1 2 1 2
0

12

Mass
Difference
 Percent
Change in
Mass
Average