Names: Estomata, Judith, Lacuarta, Pilla  

                  Date Completed: 03/29/2023

Year & Sec: BS Biology 1-B 

Activity No: 4
Observing Osmosis and Active Transport in Chinese Cabbage ( Brassica chinensis  L.)

I. Introduction 

According to Mauseth (2016), the ability to move molecules from areas of higher
to lower concentrations, moving molecules against their natural diffusion, is one of the
fundamental aspects of life itself. Without this ability, protoplasm’s organization would
degrade and its constituent parts would become more disordered. Many transport
processes are fueled by the exergonic breaking of ATP’s high-energy phosphate-binding
orbitals, which use energy. At almost every level of biological organization, specific
transport takes place. Enzymes move electrons, protons and acetyl groups. Material is
moved between and through membranes. Cells move material into and out of
themselves as well as circulate it within the protoplasm. Whole organisms move water,
sugars, minerals, and other nutrients between the roots, leaves, flowers, and fruits
among other organs.
In the field of physiology, osmosis refers to the overall movement of water
through a semipermeable membrane. Water will naturally flow from areas of high
concentration to low concentration across this membrane. However, it's important to
note that pure water must be the only substance moving across the membrane for ideal
osmosis to occur. Although osmosis can still take place even if there is some solute
particle permeability, the osmotic effect will be lessened as solute particles move across
the semipermeable membrane (Lopez, et.al., 2023). It's crucial to differentiate between
osmosis and diffusion. Diffusion pertains to the overall movement of particles from high
to low concentration, while osmosis is a specific type of diffusion that involves the
movement of water molecules. Both osmosis and diffusion occur without energy
expenditure and involve the transfer of particles from high to low concentration
(Marbach, et.al., 2019). 
According to Rice University (2023), when a substance must move into a cell
against its concentration gradient, the cell must use free energy, often produced by
ATP, and carrier proteins that act as pumps to move the substance. Substances that
move across membranes by this mechanism, called active transport, include ions such
as Na and K. The combined gradients that affect the movement of an ion are its
concentration gradient and its electrical gradient (the difference in charge across the
membrane); these gradients together are called electrochemical gradients. Moving
substances against an electrochemical gradient requires free energy. The sodium-
potassium pump, which maintains electrochemical gradients across the membranes of
animal neurons, is an example of primary active transport. The formation of H gradients
by secondary active transport (co-transport) is important in cellular respiration and
photosynthesis and in the transfer of glucose into cells.
II. Objectives:

Generally, this study aims to enhance the researchers’ knowledge about Osmosis
and Active Transport.
         Specifically, it aims:
1. To study how osmosis and active transport occur in plants
2. To identify how the water temperature affects the rate of transpiration
3. To identify how the concentration of salt in a solution affects the rate of osmosis

III. Methods

A. Materials
● Leaves with attached stalks of Chinese Cabbage/Pechay ( Brassica chinensis  L.)
● Salt
● Water
● Blue Food coloring
● Three 250 ml Erlenmeyer flasks
● Stirring rod
● Hot plate (groups 1-5)
● Thermometer
● Ice (groups 6-10)
● Plastic container (groups 6-10)
● Timer
● Masking tape
● Marker

B. Methodology

Preparatory Phase
As the group arrived at school, the members acquired the needed glasswares to
be used in the experiment. The other materials required by the facilitating group were
also prepared by the members as they cleaned their bench in order to prepare it as
their work area. Next, they listened to the facilitating group explain how the experiment
will be conducted. 

Experiment Proper 
Once the group finished preparing their work area, they started with the
experiment proper. The four members thoroughly followed the procedure given by the
facilitating group which can be found below. 

Procedure:
This experiment will be divided into two parts: Osmosis and Active Transport.
They will be performed simultaneously.
Active Transport:

1. Label two 250 ml flask as Flask #1 and Flask #2 and fill it with water.

2. Add 10 drops of food coloring into both flasks and mix well using the stirring
rod.a

3. Prepare the water as instructed for your group

For warm water:

4. Place Flask #2 onto the hot plate and wait until the water is heated up to 44°C

For cold water:

4. Fill your plastic container with water and add ice into it. Submerge Flask #2 in
the ice bath. Wait until the water in the flask is cooled to 10° Celsius before
adding the pechay.

5. Place the pechay into the flasks and start your timer.

6. Observe when the stalks and leaves show color then record the time.

Osmosis:

1. Label one 250ml flask as Flask #3 and fill it with water.

2. Add the instructed amount of salt and 10 drops of food coloring into the water.

3. Mix the solution well until all the salt is dissolved.

4. Place the pechay into the flask and start your timer.

5. Observe when changes start to occur to the pechay. Record the time and note
down what changes happened.

Clean up Phase
As the group completed the experiment, they started to clean their work area.
Some members washed the used glasswares while others disposed of any trash found
on their bench. Afterwards, they returned the requested apparatus/glassware to their
respective areas. 

 IV. Results and Discussion

Shown in the tables below are the results gathered from the experiment
conducted to observe the process of osmosis and active transport in plants.
 Table 1. Active Transport in Pechay (Brassica chinensis  L.) under different
temperatures

  Initial Initial First color Time Final color of Time

temperature color of change the pechay
the
pechay

Flask #1 with 28℃ Green Green leaves 12 Green leaves & 60

room leaves & but white stalk mins  white-blue mins 
temperature white stalk had a blue tint stalk with blue
water veins

Flask #2 with 28℃ Green Green leaves 10 Green leaves & 60

cold water leaves & but white stalk mins white-blue mins 
white stalk had a blue tint stalk with blue
veins

In contrast to expected results, the pechay stalk dipped in the flask with cold
water absorbed the dyed cold water solution faster than the stalk in the room
temperature water. Flask 1 should have been the one with the faster observed changes
in color since low temperature should have decreased the water potential of the cold
water solution. However, the width of the pechay stalk used can be an explanation for
the small difference in the rates of how fast the blue-dyed water was observed by the
pechay stalks in Flask 1 and Flask 2.

Table 2. Osmosis in Pechay (Brassica chinensis  L.) in salt solution

  Initial Initial First  change in Time Final Time
temperature appearance of appearance appearance of
the pechay the pechay

Flask #3 28℃ Green leaves & Green leaves & 17 Green leaves & 60
with salt white stalk with white stalk with mins white stalk with mins 
solution firm edges softened edges soft edges

The addition of more solutes in the Flask 3 water solution will decrease the
cytoplasmic solute concentration of the pechay stalk. Thefere, since the internal water
potential of the pechay plant cell is more positive than the salt solution, the water
contained in the stalk moves and gets absorbed by the salt solution. The loss of water
“wilted” or softened the edges of the stalk.

V. Conclusion

Questions:
1. What is the independent variable in the experiment?

The independent variables are the salt solution and temperature of the water in
the flasks. 

2. What are the dependent variables?

The dependent variables are the color of the pechay and the rate it takes for the
color to rise up the stalk of the pechay. 

3. What happened to the pechay in flask #1? Why?

The blue-dyed water solution had lesser solutes compared to the water inside
the pechay stalks. Hence, due to the potential energy, the blue water moves inside and
upward the xylems of the pechay stalk. 

4. Were there any changes in the pechay in flask #3? Why or why not?

There are no changes in the color of the pechay in flask #3. However, the end
of the pechay stalk had gotten soft due to the decreasing water content of the pechay
stalk. 

5. Why did the pechay in flask #3 not absorb the water like the pechay did in flask#1?

In contrast to flask #1, the blue-dyed solution had more solutes. Therefore, due
to osmosis, the water inside the pechay moved outwards to the blue-dyed salt
solution. 

6. How did the temperature of the water affect the rate of water uptake in the pechay?

As the temperature of the water increases, water molecules gain more energy.
This is why the rate of active transport increases in the plant. As the temperature
decreases, the rate of active transport also decreases or becomes slower. 

7. What other factors could have affected the experiment?

Another factor that could affect the experiment is the thickness of the pechay
stalk. 

VI. Appendix
 Three 250mL Erlenmeyer Flasks 1 and 2 were given For the salt solution, 2
flasks were labeled and 10 drops of blue food tablespoons of salt were
75mL of water were coloring. added to flask 3.
added. Before starting out,
the temperature of the
water in each flask was
checked. 

1 drop of food coloring Preparation of ice bath Flask 2 was submerged into
was then added into flask the ice bath. Its
3 temperature is maintained
at least 10° celsius
throughout the experiment
 After preparing all of the Color progression of Color progression of pechay
solutions, 1 stalk of pechay pechay stalks from flask 1 stalk from Flask 3 after 30
was placed in each flask and flask 2 after 30 minutes
and carefully observed. minutes
 

Final appearance of Pechay flesh from flask 1

pechay stalks after 1 hour 
 Pechay flesh from flask 2 Pechay flesh from flask 3

VII. References
Lopez, M. J. (2023, March 13). Physiology, Osmosis. StatPearls - NCBI Bookshelf.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK557609/
Marbach, S., & Bocquet, L. (2019). Osmosis, from molecular insights to large-scale
applications. Chemical Society Reviews, 48(11), 3102–3144.
https://doi.org/10.1039/c8cs00420j
Mauseth, J. D. (2016). Botany: An Introduction to Plant Biology (Sixth Edition). J ones &
Bartlett Publishers.
Rice University (2023). 5.3. Active Transport - Biology for AP® Courses | OpenStax. (n.d.).
https://openstax.org/books/biology-ap-courses/pages/5-3-active-transport

VIII. Group Evaluation

Rated by: Estomata Judith  Lacuarta Pilla

Estomata, Angel Mae 10 10 10 10

Judith, Marielle Natasha  10 10 10 10

Lacuarta, Noella 10 10 10 10

Pilla, Paoleen Marie 10 10 10 10