C.

Practical Application of Osmosis

1. Place the lettuce leaf, a slice of cucumber and the stalk of celery in a beaker
containing a strong salt solution (more than 3%).
2. Place similar plant parts in a beaker of pure water.
3. After an hour, examine the plant parts and compare.
4. Write down your observations.

Observations:
The experiment instructed to prepare two set up. The 1 st set up is with pure water
and the second one used a salt solution. Below are the actual images of the set up
prepared and the specimen to be used in the experiment

a. b.

Fig. 5. a) The set up prepared for the experiment, the pure water(right) and the salt
solution(left).
b) the specimen used (lettuce leaf, celery stalk and cucumber slice).
The specimen has been submerged in both set-up for 1 hour and the results are the
following:
Pure water
After an hour of placement in the container, the specimen is obviously bloated
and distinguishably different from the initial sample. The water can be seen infused in
the specimen, especially in the cucumber slice; the cucumber swelled and formed a
curved shaped cavity as seen in fig.__, it also becomes quite heavier. The celery stalk
looks little bit sturdier. The lettuce leaf appears fresh and crisper than the initial look of
the sample.
According to the results of this experiment, it shows that cells of the given
specimen are hypertonic to the pure water because it induces water movement
(osmosis). This also proves that specimen’s cytoplasm contains more solute
concentration than the pure water explaining the movement of the water molecules and
the resulting appearance of the specimen.

a. b.

c.

Fig. 5. a) cucumber b) lettuce leaf c) celery stalk , after 1 hour placed in pure water.
Saline solution
The saline solution that was used in this set-up was 7% concentrated (200ml
of water and 15 g of salt), as instructed (higher than 3 percent). Same with the pure
water, the specimen is placed in saline solution for an hour.
The results are immediately noticeable, the specimen has shrunk and wilted.
The cucumber loses its original rigidity and becomes more flexible and softer. The stalk
also seems shrunken and flexible. The lettuce leaf is completely wilted and appeared
darker in terms of color. The actual images are shown below at fig.5.__.

a. b.

c.

Fig. 5. a) cucumber b) lettuce leaf c) celery stalk , after 1 hour placed in 7% Saline
solution.
Guide Questions
4. Describe all the plant parts placed in strong salt solution and in water.
As mentioned in the observation in the practical application of osmosis, there are
noticeable results observed with the specimens after the experiment. Specifically, in the
pure water , the plant parts are bloated and appears crisper and fresher. The cucumber
slice obviously swelled as well as the celery stalk. The lettuce leaf became more crisper
and brighter in color. On the other hand, in the salt solution the situation of the
specimens is opposite to the water. The lettuce becomes totally wilted and lose its crisp.
The cucumber slice becomes soft and flexible, losing its original rigidity. The celery stalk
also becomes more bendable. Also, the color of the plant parts becomes more darker
than the one’s placed in water.

6. Is there a possibility for a plasmolyzed cell to grow back to its normal state? Explain
your answer.
Yes, it is possible and are already occurring in both plant and animal cells. Plant
cells are surrounded by cell walls and when they are exposed in a hypertonic
environments, water moves out of the cell following the concentration gradient causing
the cell’s protoplasm to shrink and move away from the cell wall. The cell now becomes
plasmolyzed—undergo plasmolysis. To bring the cell’s cytoplasm to its normal state ,
the cell must be returned to an isotonic or hypotonic solution for it to gain back the water
it loses. The water will move back to the cell’s protoplasm giving back its normal size,
retaining its normal shape. This process explains how plants can survive critical
environments such as arid and high saline concentration soil. This also explains the
importance of water to the cell—later to life and survival.