Lab #5

Date: October 29th, 2020

Title
Passive Transport: Osmosis
Aim
To measure the water potential of onion cells.
Materials/Apparatus:
1. 6 microscope slides forceps
2. Onion epidermis cover slips
3. Range of sucrose solutions from 0.2M to 1.0M mounted needle
4. Distilled water
5. Microscope
Procedures:
1. The slides of 0.2M, 0.4M, 0.6M, 0.8M, 1.0M, 0.0M were labelled (distilled water)
2. A piece of onion scale leaf was collected and the epidermis was removed from it.
3. The epidermis was cut in 6 equal pieces and they were about 1cm square.
4. The pieces of epidermis were placed onto each of the slides.
5. 3 drops of appropriate solution was added to each slide, then coverslips were added and
the time was noted.
6. The slides were stand for 20 minutes.
7. The results were recorded and placed in a table.
8. 50 cells were counted for each slides, for the 50 cells that were counted the amount that
were plasmolyzed were recorded.
Results:
Sucrose Solutions Total Number
Number of Percentage of
of cells
Plasmolyzed Plasmolyzed
Cells
0.0 M (H2O) 50 0 0
0.2 M 50 13 26%
0.4 M 50 30 60%
0.6 M 50 26 52%
0.8 M 50 20 40%
1.0 M 50 39 78%
TABLE SHOWING THE PENCENTAGE OF PLASMOLYZED CELLS OF SUCROSE
SOLUTION
 Plasmolyzed
0.9

0.8

0.7
Percentage Plasmolyzed

0.6

0.5

0.4

0.3

0.2

0.1

0
0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1 1.2
Molarity of Sucrose Solution

Discussion
The osmotic effect cause a flow of water from the weak solution to the strong solution. Thus
water on the outside on concrete is drawn into the pores where there is a stronger solution.
Osmosis in passive transport process during which water moves from areas where solutes are
less concentrated to areas where they are more concentrated. A hypotonic solution has a low
solute concentration than the side of the cells. Osmotic forces then cause water from a solution to
center the cells. The cell eventually stretches and bursts in the process of lysis. A hypertonic
solution is a particular type of solution that has a greater concentration of solutes on the outside
of the cell when compared with the inside of the cell.
The point at which the protoplast is just pulled away from the cell wall at corners is called as
incipient plasmolysis. When protoplast is completely detached from the cell wall, it is called as
evident plasmolysis. When cytoplasm is found at the centre of the cell, it is called as final
plasmolysis. As shown in the graph that from H2O to 0.4M the molarity increased and the then
decreased from 0.4M to 0.8M, then increased again from the 0.8M to 1.0M.
Conclusion
From each slide all the epidermis that were cutted from the onion the cell in it were checked if
they were plasmolyzed and if they were they were counted and then recorded in the table, then
the amount plasmolyzed cells were also recorded its percentage.

Limitation
A limitation could be that the slides could have been stand for more than the 20 minutes.

Source of Errors
An error could have been cutting the piece of onion and not collecting the epidermis accurately
from the correct measurement from the onion.

Lab 4 Mark Scheme

Cells & Water Potential (Observation/Recording/Reporting)

Report Format & Procedure (4 marks)                   

- Correct spelling, grammar and punctuation [1]

- Procedure: clear, logical sequence of steps [1]

- Procedure: past tense/passive voice/3 person

rd
[1]

- Acceptable scientific reporting, including units [1]

Observations & Results (8 marks)                         

- Describe effect of osmotic action on cells [2]

- Accurately tabulate percentage plasmolysis [2]

- Accurately plot percentage plasmolysis vs. molarity [2]

- Accurately report molarity at 50% plasmolysis [1]

- Accurately report water potential of cells [1] 

References
https://www.khanacademy.org/science/high-school-biology/hs-energy-and-transport/hs-osmosis-
and-tonicity/v/hypotonic-isotonic-and-hypertonic-solutions-tonicity#:~:text=A%20hypotonic
%20solution%20has%20a,in%20the%20process%20becoming%20lysis.