Egg Osmosis Lab - Avanthi Reddy (3rd Period)

Hypothesis:

If an egg is placed in different solutions, it will either expand or shrink depending on whether the solution is hypertonic or hypotonic.

Day Date Mass Volume Volume Observations

Added(mL) Remaining (look below for
(mL) observations)

1 09/08 65 g 200mL ---

4 09/11 108.6 g 200mL 100mL

5 09/12 65.3 g 200mL 220mL

6 09/13 114.2 g 200mL 150mL

Day 1: When the egg was first added to the vinegar solution, bubbles surrounded the egg shell.

Day 4: When the calcium(eggshell)dissolved, the water in the vinegar solution moved through the egg causing it to expand. It felt like
a water balloon when held and was firm. The size of the egg and its mass increased.

Day 5: When we removed the egg from the syrup solution, the egg decreased in mass. The egg was smaller and much softer than it
was on Day 4..

Day 6: When we removed the egg from the water solution, it felt like a huge water balloon. It was quite heavy and had the mass of
114.2 grams!
Conclusions:

1. Vinegar is made of acetic acid and water. When the egg was placed in vinegar, which way did the water molecules
move? How do you know this?

When the egg was placed in the vinegar solution, the water molecules from the vinegar moved into the egg. This was proven in the
lab when the mass of the egg increased from 65 grams to 108.6 grams. Also, when held, the egg was quite firm and was much
heavier than when weighed before. Vinegar is a hypotonic solution. This applies here because there is a lower concentration of
solute molecules in the vinegar than in the egg which is why the water moved into the egg.

2. After the egg was placed in syrup, which way did the water molecules move- in or out of the egg? Using the correct
terminology, describe what condition exists for the egg.

When the egg was placed in the syrup, the water molecules moved out of the cell into the syrup. The syrup is a hypertonic solution
and contains more solute particles than the egg. Here, the mass decreased from 108.6 grams to 65.3 grams. The egg shrunk and
became softer when placed in the syrup.

3. How can you explain the amount of liquid remaining when the egg was removed from the syrup?

The amount of remaining liquid increased when the egg was removed from the syrup. The remaining volume of the liquid increased
from 200 mL to 220 mL. This was caused by osmosis. Here, osmosis is the diffusion of water through the selectively permeable
membrane of the egg.

4. When the egg was placed in water after being removed from the syrup, which way did the water move?
When the egg was placed in the water, its mass changed from 65.3 grams to 114.2 grams. The water molecules moved into the egg.
Water is a hypotonic solution which resulted in the egg cell to expand and get larger.

Was your hypothesis validated? Explain why or why not.

My hypothesis was validated. This was proven when I placed the egg in different solutions it either shrunk or expanded. The water
molecules diffused into the cells of the egg causing its mass to increase. When the egg was placed into the vinegar solution, the
acetic acid dissolved the calcium and the water diffused into the cell causing the egg to expand. This is proven as the mass of the
egg increased by 43.6 grams and the volume remaining of the liquid decreased by 100 mL. When the same egg was added to the
syrup solution, the egg shrunk in size and decreased in mass by 43.3 grams and became similar in mass to the original egg. This
was because when the egg was placed in the syrup, the water molecules moved out of the cell and into the syrup, which was a
hypertonic solution. The next day, the egg was added to the water solution. When the egg was added into this solution, it expanded
and increased in mass by 48.9 grams. This was because the water molecules were diffused into the egg causing it to expand in size.
In conclusion to this lab, when the egg is placed in the various solutions, it will either expand or shrink depending on the type of
solution.

Data:
Pictures: