Concentration of Initial mass Final mass Change in mass Percentage change

sucrose solution (g), ±0.05 (g) ±0.05 (g) ±0.05 in mass

(mol/dm3) (%)
0 (distilled water) 0.56 0.64 +0.08 14.29
0.25 0.63 0.75 +0.12 19.05
0.50 0.40 0.44 +0.04 10.0
0.75 0.43 0.42 -0.01 -2.33
1.00 0.53 0.51 -0.02 -3.77
Measuring water potential of a potato cell

The purpose of this investigation was to study the effect of changes in the water potential gradient on the
osmolarity of the potato cell by measuring changes in mass after submerging the potato cells in different
concentrations of sucrose solution. The table above demonstrates that there is a correlation between the change
in mass and the change in water potential. The table shows that regions of high water potential (distilled water)
would cause the potato cell to increase in mass (+0.08g) due to the movement of water molecules into the cell
whereas regions of low water potential (1.00 mol/dm3 of sucrose solution) would cause a decreases in the mass
of the potato cell (-0.02g) due to the movement of water molecules out of the cell. It can be established that
osmolarity and water potential have a negative correlation.

When the water potential increases, the mass of the potato cell also increases. This is because of osmosis.
Osmosis is the passive movement of water molecules from a region of lower solute concentration to a region
of higher solute concentration, across a partially permeable membrane. The water molecules will continue to
move through the partially permeable membrane until osmotic equilibrium is achieved. Osmotic equilibrium
refers to when there is an equal concentration of water molecules in both sides of the membrane. Osmotic
equilibrium is vital to the cell as it ensures optimal concentrations for the cell to carry out its functions and to
prevent the cell from accumulating waste.

As seen in the table, placing the potato cell in a boiling the of distilled water will create a hypotonic
environment for the cell. In a hypotonic solution, there are fewer active solutes. Active solutes are substances
that dissolve by forming intramolecular bonds with water molecules. Hypotonic solutions have more free water
molecules that can move across the partially permeable membrane and therefore, regulating the osmotic
balance in both sides of the membrane. The partially permeable membrane will only allow water molecules to
enter, larger molecules such as glucose would not be able to enter it as they are too large.

During the observation of this investigation, there was no visible change.

In future experiments, it would be suitable to rerun each trial for at least seven times and taking the average in
order to secure more precise results.

In the table above, an anomaly can be identified which is that the potato cell in 0.25mol/dm 3 of sucrose
solution had the highest percentage change in mass (19.05%). Scientifically, the potato cell that should have
the highest percentage change is the cell in distilled water. This anomaly could be investigated further, or it
could be an error in methodology. Overall, a repetition would be required to obtain more accurate results.