Morgan Merritt

9/9/15
Mr. Young
AP Biology
Osmosis or Diffusion
Introduction
In this procedure, it was designed to determine whether water has an effect on a potato by
dropping both potatoes into beakers of salt water and fresh water. Osmosis is a process in
which molecules of a solvent tend to pass through a membrane from a less concentrated
solution into a more concentrated one, thus equalizing the concentrations on each side of the
membrane. Diffusion is the spreading of something more widely.
Hypothesis
No, water doesnt have an effect on osmosis in potatoes.
Materials
Beaker (2)
Potatoes
Scalpel
Pins
Ruler
Scale
Fresh water
Salt water
Procedure
To determine if the potatoes were osmosis or diffusion, all the potatoes must be the same size.
Cut the potatoes into 1 and 2 cm cube sizes. Label each potato by size and sticking a pin into it.
Record the weight of the potato before dropping it into the salt or fresh water. Fill one beaker up
with fresh water and the other with salt water, label it. Drop one of the 1 cm cube potatoes into
the beaker of salt water along with the 2 cm cube potato. Drop the remaining potatoes in the
fresh water and let sit for 30 minutes. Once time is up, remove each potato and record the new
weight.
Results
Potato
Pink (1 cm)
Green (1 cm)
White (2 cm)
Yellow (2 cm)

Before (cm)
.702
.658
5.151
4.702

After (cm)
0.670
.709
4.605
4.772

Salt/Fresh Water
Salt
Fresh
Salt
Fresh