Erika Chen

Biology Internal Assessment

21 August 2019

INVESTIGATING OSMOSIS
THROUGH POTATO STRIPS
R
Research Question:
Does the effect of osmosis on potatoes in different
concentrations of sucrose solutions contribute to gain or loss
of weight in the potato strips?

Aim:
To determine the concentration of potato cell content
using sucrose solutions of known concentration.

Personal Engagement:
Recently we have been studying about the cell structure in
class and I thought it would be interesting to conduct an
experiment to observe the effect of osmosis in different
concentrations of sucrose solutions on potato strips.

Introduction:
To begin with, we shall understand the term Osmosis,
which is a process by which water molecules move from an

POTATO OSMOSIS EXPERIMENT 1

area of low solute concentration to an area of high solute
concentration through a semipermeable membrane in order to
reach an equilibrium point between the inside and outside of
the cell. Osmosis is one of the many forms of Passive
transport, meaning it requires no energy (Adenosine
triphosphate) to happen. In this lab experiment, we will use
different sucrose concentration solutions (0.0, 0.2, 0.4, 0.6,
0.8, 1.0 mol/dm³) and compare it will distilled water solution
as well to see how each solution affects the size of the potato
and how high the diffusion of osmosis in each solute
concentration will be in comparison to one another.

Hypothesis: If the potatoes are each placed in the different

concentrations of sucrose solutions, then the water will flow
from the less concentrated to the more concentrated solution.
Therefore mass will increase in the more concentrated
solution.

Variables:

• Dependant Variables:
18 strips of potato were measured to be 3cm long. It was
measured using a rules, knife and scalpel.

POTATO OSMOSIS EXPERIMENT 2

• Independant Variables:
Concentration of different sucrose solutions :
1. 0.0 mol/dm^3
2. 0.2 mol/dm^3
3. 0.4 mol/dm^3
4. 0.6 mol/dm^3
5. 0.8 mol/dm^3
6. 1.0 mol/dm^3
CONTROLLED
VARIABLES:
Length of the potato strips
Duration of time in which
the potato strips were
submerged in different
solutions
POTATO OSMOSIS EXPERIMENT
WHY? HOW?
Surface area to volume 3cm length was
ratio affects the rate of measured using a ruler
osmosis and its and then cut as
efficiency precisely as possible
with a scalpel.
In order to get a the potato strips were
reliable result all the cut around the same
tests must be made time and out in water
under the same around the same time
amount of time, as well. The whole
considering if some process went on for 24
would stay longer, hours and all the
more diffusion of potatoes were taken
water would occur and out at the same time
the results would thus
be false.
3
 CONTROLLED WHY? HOW?
VARIABLES:

Temperature Temperature affects The potatoes were cut

the rate of diffusion, and out in the
considering the rate of solutions in the same
diffusion depends on room with very low
the amount of kinetic temperature difference
energy available which as well as kept in the
on its own dependant same temperature
on the temperature. overnight until they
The higher the were taken out
temperature, the
higher the kinetic
energy.
Volume in each petri-dish The amount of To ensure that the
covering the potato strips solution in each dish results would be
accurate.

Material and apparatus required:

• Six test tubes

• Scalpel

• Knife

• Cutting board

• Potatoes and Sweet Potatoes

• Plastic ruler

POTATO OSMOSIS EXPERIMENT 4

 • Pencil

• Petri-dish

• Measuring cylinder

• Prepared sucrose solutions : 0.0 mol/dm³ ⇒ Distilled water, 0.2 mol/dm³,

0.4 mol/dm³, 0.6 mol/dm³, 0.8 mol/dm³, 1.0 mol/dm³

Method:
CONCENTRATION OF VOLUME OF 1 mol/dm^3 VOLUME OF
SUCROSE / mol/dm^3 sucrose solution / cm^3 DISTILLED WATER/
cm^3
1.0 30 0

0.8 24 6

0.6 18 12

0.4 12 18

0.2 6 24

0.0 0 30

1. Decide the volumes of 1.0mol/dm^3 sucrose solution

and distilled water you will need to make 25cm^3 of each
of the concentrations of sucrose shown in the table below.
2. Label large test-tubes with these concentrations.
3. Prepare the 6 concentrations of sucrose solutions in the
labelled test-tubes.

POTATO OSMOSIS EXPERIMENT 5

 4. Cut 6 cylinders of potatoes using a cork borer, each
should be 3cm long.
5. Each cylinder should be gently blotted with a paper
towel.
6. Measure the mass of one of the potato cylinders.
7. Record the mass of this potato cylinder in a results
table.
8. Put the potato into the test-tube containing the 1.0
mol/dm^3 sucrose solution.
9. Repeat the steps necessary for each of the other
sucrose solutions you have prepared.
10. Leave the potatoes to soak for half an hour.
11. After half an hour, remove the potato cylinder from
the 1.0 mol/dm^3 sucrose solution.
12. Gently blot the cylinder with a paper towel.
13. Measure the mass of the potato cylinder and record its
mass in a results table.
14. Repeat this with each of the rest of the potato
cylinders. You should remove them from their solutions in
the same order that you out them in.

POTATO OSMOSIS EXPERIMENT 6

RESULTS:
initial mass mean final mass perce
ntage
1.0 0.86 0.85 0.87 0.86 0.79 0.78 0.77 0.77 -1.5%
0.2 0.85 0.83 0.88 0.85 0.89 0.94 0.91 0.91 7.05
%
0.4 0.85 0.89 0.83 0.85 0.84 0.86 0.89 0.86 1.17%
0.6 0.83 0.85 0.89 0.85 0.77 0.79 0.80 0.78 -
6.3%

POTATO OSMOSIS EXPERIMENT 7

 initial mass mean final mass perce
ntage
0.8 0.91 0.92 0.86 0.89 0.78 0.82 0.82 0.8 -
8.3%
0.0 0.85 0.86 0.84 0.85 0.90 0.89 0.91 0.9 5.8%

POTATO OSMOSIS EXPERIMENT 8

Conclusion/evaluation

As the results show, the hypothesis given was correct and the potato chores did
grow in low sucrose concentration/distilled water and did shrink in high sucrose
concentration. This also gives another fact that if the potatoes were to be
measured in weight, we would then see that the mass would decrease in a high
sucrose concentration and decrease in a low sucrose concentration/distilled
water.

The largest % average size change was between the sucrose solution 0.6 and 0.8
from -11% to 14.5%, which is a point of which we can see that the potato chore
simply shrunk and got more affected from 0.8 mol/dm³ and down. In distilled
water, the percentage average change from the initial size was 8%, which
supports the hypothesis even more with the fact that the lower the sucrose
concentration is, the more water will move inside the potato.

The average size change between sucrose concentration 0.2 and 0.4 mol/dm³
was not so much in comparison to all the others, giving the conclusion that the
potato chores original sucrose concentration must have been between those two
values. As told above in section “Introduction” we explained who osmosis is the
net movement of water molecules moving from a low solute concentration to a
high solute concentration, meaning that between those two sucrose solutions,
we probably hit very close to a isotonic solution (not exactly but still).

A further consolidation of the hypothesis, results, and the background

information is how the potato chores in distilled water and in the sucrose
solution 0.2 mol/dm³ were indeed turgid and the potato chores in 0.8 mol/dm³
and higher were flaccid as well as felt a bit squishy.

A wide range of errors can be kept in consideration when it comes to the

measurement of temperature, potato chores and the fact that we manually kept
on touching the potatoes with our hands which could have defected the sugar
distribution across the potatoes surface and altering the osmosis results. Another
error factor would also be the fact that more than one potato was required in the
experiment to get the 18 potato chores, thus us having several different sucrose
sources and by the fact that each potato has different levels of nutrition, the
results might have a deficiency inaccuracy in this area.

POTATO OSMOSIS EXPERIMENT 9