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I. Title
II. Purpose
The purpose of this lab was to investigate the relationship between solute concentration
and the movement of water through a selectively permeable membrane by the process of
osmosis by using both dialysis tubing and potato cylinders.
III. Hypothesis
1B) If the dialysis bag contains a solution with a high sucrose concentration, it will have
a higher increase in mass than a dialysis bag that contains a solution with a low sucrose
concentration.
1C) If the potatoes are placed in a beaker with a higher sucrose concentration than the
sucrose concentration in the potato cells, the potato cylinders will lose mass, whereas
potato cylinders placed in a beaker with a lower sucrose concentration will increase in
mass.
IV. Procedure
V. Presentation of data/calculations/results
Exercise 1A: Table 1.1
Contents in Dialysis Bag Initial Final Mass Mass Difference Percent Change in Mass
Mass
a) 0.0 M Distilled Water 10.00g 9.70g 0.30g -3.00%
b) 0.2 M Sucrose 10.99g 11.50g 0.51g 4.641%
c) 0.4 M Sucrose 10.71g 11.42g 0.71g 6.629%
d) 0.6 M Sucrose 11.09g 11.99g 0.90g 8.115%
e) 0.8 M Sucrose 10.80g 12.32g 1.52g 14.074%
f) 1.0 M Sucrose 11.85g 13.49g 1.64g 13.840%
20%
Percent Change in Mass
15%
0%
0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1 1.2
-5%
Sucrose Concentration (M)
Exercise 1B: Table 1.3: Dialysis Bag Results- Class Data
20.00%
Percent Change in Mass
Group 2
15.00%
Group 4
10.00%
Group 6
5.00% Group 7
0.00% Linear (Group 2)
0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1 1.2 Linear (Group 4)
-5.00%
Linear (Group 6)
-10.00%
Linear (Group 7)
-15.00%
Sucrose Concentration (M)
16.00%
Percent Change in Mass
14.00%
12.00%
10.00%
8.00%
6.00% Class Average
4.00% Linear (Class Average)
2.00%
0.00%
-2.00% 0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1 1.2
-4.00%
-6.00%
Sucrose Concentration (M)
Contents in Beaker Initial Final Mass Mass Difference Percent Change Class Average Percent
Mass in Mass Change in Mass
a) 0.0 M Distilled Water 6.73g 8.22g 1.49g 22.14% 19.746%
b) 0.2 M Sucrose 6.61g 6.80g 0.19g 2.87% 0.598%
c) 0.4 M Sucrose 6.92g 5.91g 1.01g -14.595% -10.875%
d) 0.6 M Sucrose 8.35g 6.08g 2.27g -27.19% -18.976%
e) 0.8 M Sucrose 7.32g 4.35g 2.97g -40.57% -27.508%
f) 1.0 M Sucrose 7.33g 4.12g 3.21g -43.79% -29.65%
30.00%
Percent Change in Mass
20.00%
10.00%
0.00% Percent Change in Mass of
-10.00% 0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1 1.2 Potato
-20.00% Linear (Percent Change in
-30.00% Mass of Potato)
-40.00%
-50.00%
-60.00%
Sucrose Concentration (M)
1.2 Group 2
Percent Change in Mass
1 Group 3
0.8
Group 4
0.6
0.4 Group 6
0.2 Group 7
0 Linear (Group 2)
-0.2 0 0.05 0.1 0.15 0.2 0.25 0.3
Linear (Group 3)
-0.4
-0.6 Linear (Group 4)
-0.8 Linear (Group 6)
Sucrose Concentration (M) in Beaker Linear (Group 7)
30.00%
Average Percent Change in
20.00%
10.00% Average Percent Change in
M ass of Potato Cores
0.00%
Mass
30%
Percent Change in Mass
20%
10%
Percent Change in Mass of
0% Zucchini Cores
0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1 1.2 Linear (Percent Change in
-10%
Mass of Zucchini Cores)
-20%
-30%
-40%
Sucrose Concentration (M) in Beaker
VI. Conclusions
Error analysis
Although the points on our graph in Exercise 1B are fairly close to the trend line,
they are not completely accurate. There are several factors that could have contributed to
the bad data points in Exercise 1B. First of all, we could have put too much or too little
of any one sucrose solution into the dialysis bags. If we added too much sucrose, more
water would enter into the dialysis bag than should have- this would contribute to data
points above the trend line. However, if we did not use enough sucrose solution, less
water would enter the dialysis bags- this would contribute to data points below the trend
line. We also could have neglected to blot the dialysis bags dry before each of the two
times we massed them. If so, then they were recorded as heavier than they really were,
and these data points would be above the trend line. In addition to this, we ran out of
time, so we only let the dialysis bags sit in the beakers for about twenty minutes. As a
result, not all of the water may have diffused into the dialysis bags, and they may have
weighed less than they would have if allowed to sit for thirty minutes. These points
would be plotted below the trend line. We did the procedure correctly, but if there had
been a misunderstanding, the data also would have been inaccurate. For example, if the
dialysis bags were filled with sucrose solution and put in the same concentration of
sucrose solution, the environment would be isotonic, and there would be no change in
mass. The points would be completely off of the trend line. However, if water was put
in the dialysis bags and these bags were placed in the sucrose solutions, the points would
form the trend line, but with a negative slope, because the dialysis bags would be losing
mass instead of gaining mass.
Our data in Exercise 1C is actually quite reliable, because most of our points are
very close or even right on the trend line. However, they did not all touch the trend line,
so we made mistakes. One thing we could have done wrong was massing the potato
cores accurately. If we recorded too high of a mass, then the potatoes would have
seemed to gain less weight than they actually did. This would be represented by the
points below the trend line. The opposite would occur if we recorded too low of a mass.
We also could have forgotten to blot the potatoes dry after letting them sit overnight, and
this would also result in a final mass and points above the trend line. Finally, if we did
not cover the beakers to prevent evaporation while sitting overnight. If water that had
diffused out of the potato cells evaporated, more water would diffuse out of the potato
cells in an attempt to reach equilibrium, and the process continued until we massed the
potatoes. A loss of water could have resulted in a loss of mass of the potatoes and data
points below the trend line.
Analysis of Results
Pg. 3, 4
1. Which substances are entering the bag and which are leaving the bag? What experimental
evidence supports your answer?
Glucose is leaving the bag because after the substances were allowed to diffuse across the
‘membrane,’ the solution in the beaker was tested for glucose using Benedict’s solution.
Glucose was indeed present because the solution turned yellow. Water entered the bag
because the bag increased in mass. Starch did not leave the bag. When the solution in the
beaker was tested for starch with IKI, the result was negative because, unlike the solution in
the bag, the solution in the beaker did not turn purple or brown.
2. Explain the results you obtained. Include the concentration differences and membrane pore
size in your discussion.
3. Quantitative data uses numbers to measure observed changes. How could this experiment be
modified so that quantitative data could be collected to show that water diffused into the
dialysis bag?
Quantitative data could be collected to show that water diffused into the dialysis bag by
massing the dialysis bag before and after being placed in the solution. The dialysis bag
would show an increase and mass, proving that water diffused into the dialysis bag.
4. Based on your observations, rank the following by relative size, beginning with the smallest:
glucose molecules, water molecules, IKI molecules, membrane pores, starch molecules.
Water molecules, IKI molecules, glucose molecules, membrane pores, starch molecules.
5. What results would you expect if the experiment started with a glucose and IKI solution
inside the bag and only starch and water outside? Why?
The starch would not move because it is too big of a molecule to move through the
membrane. The IKI and glucose would diffuse outside the bag, and the water would diffuse
inside the bag until equilibrium was reached. The IKI would also turn the starch molecules
outside the membrane purple.
Pg. 7, 8
1. Explain the relationship between the change in mass and the molarity of sucrose within the
dialysis bags.
As the molarity of the sucrose inside the dialysis bags increases, the mass of the bags
increase because water is diffuses into the dialysis bags where sucrose concentration is
higher.
2. Predict what would happen to the mass of each bag in this experiment if all the bags were
placed in a 0.4 M sucrose solution instead of distilled water. Explain your response.
The bags containing sucrose solutions with a concentration less than 0.4 M would lose mass
because the water in those solutions would move outside the bag, where there would be a
higher solute concentration. The bag containing 0.4 M sucrose solution would not change in
mass because the solution would be isotonic. The bags containing sucrose solutions with a
concentration higher than 0.4 M would increase in size because water from outside of the
bag would move into the bag where there would be a higher concentration of solute.
3. Why did you calculate the percent change in mass rather than simply using the change in
mass?
We calculated percent change so that we could compare the change in mass of all the dialysis
bags containing different concentrations of sucrose.
4. A dialysis bag is filled with distilled water and then placed in a sucrose solution. The bag’s
initial mass is 20 g and its final mass is 18 g. Calculate the percent change of mass, showing
your calculations here.
5. The sucrose solution in the beaker would have been hypertonic to the distilled water in the
bag.
Pg. 14 #1 and 2
1. If a potato core is allowed to dehydrate by sitting in the open air, would the water potential
of the potato cells decrease or increase? Why?
The water potential of the cell would decrease because high water potential is when more
water molecules are present, whereas low water potential is when less water molecules are
present. If a potato core is dehydrated, it lacks water and has a decreased water potential.
2. If a plant cell has a lower water potential than its surrounding environment and if pressure is
equal to zero, is the cell hypertonic (in terms of concentration) or hypotonic to its
environment? Will the cell gain water or lose water? Explain your response.
The cell is hypertonic to its environment because it contains less water, so the cell will gain
water in order to become isotonic to its environment.
Pg. 16 #10
10. Consider what would happen to a red blood cell (RBC) placed in distilled water:
a. Which would have the higher concentration of water molecules? Distilled H2O
b. Which would have the higher water potential? Distilled H2O
c. What would happen to the red blood cell? Why? The red blood cell would increase in
mass and possibly burst because water would diffuse into the red blood cell because of
the lack of water there.