Experiment 3.

6
Aim: To study the effect of the concentration of sugar on a plant cell.
Problem statement: What is the effect of the different concentration of sucrose on
the potato strip?
Hypothesis: When the concentration of sucrose is hypotonic, the mass of the
potato strip increases.
When the concentration of sucrose is isotonic, the mass of potato strip remains the
same.
When the concentration of sucrose is hypertnic, the mass of potato strip decreases.
Apparatus:
Material:
Procedure:
1. Prepare 7 petri dish as follows:
a) 0.1 M - 0.1M sucrose solution
b) 0.2M 0.2M sucrose solution
c) 0.3M 0.3M sucrose solution
d) 0.4M 0.4M sucrose solution
e) 0.5M 0.5M sucrose solution
f) 0.6M 0.6M sucrose solution
g) Distilled water
2. Use cork borer to get a 2cm potato strip.
3. Pour 30ml of 0.1M sucrose solution in Petri dish 0.1M
4. Observe and record the changes that occur in petri dish 0.1M after 30 minutes.
5. Repeat steps 2-4 with O.2M, 0.3M, 0.4M, 0.5M, 0.6M and distilled water.
6. As a safety precaution, do not hold the potato in your hand when cutting it.
Instead, use a cutting board as a base.
Results:
Solution
Distilled
water
0.1M
sucrose
0.2M
sucrose
0.3M
sucrose
0.4M
sucrose
0.5M
sucrose
0.6M

Initial mass
(g)

Final mass
(g)

Difference in
mass (g)

sucrose
Discussion:
Conclusion: Hypothesis accepted.
When the concentration of sucrose is hypotonic, the mass of the potato strip
increases.
When the concentration of sucrose is isotonic, the mass of potato strip remains the
same.
When the concentration of sucrose is hypertnic, the mass of potato strip decreases.