Research question: How does the osmolarity of sucrose solution ranging from

0.0M to 0.8M affect the change of weight and length of the tissue of Solanum
tuberosum?
1. Introduction

The transportation of materials in

and out of cells is essential for all
living cells and can be
done in two ways: active transport
or passive transport. Passive
transport occurs
spontaneously due to the inherent
Kinetic energy all cells have.
Osmosis is one type of
passive transport and is the
diffusion of water through a
selectively permeable membrane
from an area of high concentration
to an area of lower concentration.
Osmosis is different
from diffusion as only small
molecules such as water molecules
are able to diffuse through
the selectively permeable
membrane while larger molecules
such as proteins are unable to
do so. Under this idea, osmolarity
is the measure of solute
concentration, as defined by the
number of solute particles per litre
solution. In this case, how much
NaCl is dissolved in one
litre of filtered water.
In this experiment, we are able to
show the process of osmosis and
calculate the osmolarity
of a potato since potato cells and
plant cells have selectively
permeable membranes. In
general, plant cells have a higher
solute concentration than distilled
water (Osmolarity = 0),
making distilled water a hypotonic
solution with a higher
concentration of water than potato
cells. This then cases water
molecules to move into the cell via
osmosis, making the cell
turgid and causing and increase in
mass. However, the reverse can be
true with hypertonic
solutions where there is a higher
concentration of water inside the
cell, causing water to
move of out the cell via osmosis
making the cell flaccid and
decrease in mass. By
submerging potato cells into
Sodium Chloride solutions of
various concentration, we are
hoping to find the isotonic point
where the water concentration is
the same inside and
outside of the cell causing no net
movement of water and no change
in mass. The
concentration of the isotonic
solution would then give us the
estimated osmolarity of potato
cells.
The transportation of materials in and out of cells is essential for all living cells
and can be done in two ways: active transport or passive transport. Passive
transport occurs spontaneously due to the inherent Kinetic energy all cells have.
Osmosis is one type of passive transport and is the diffusion of water through a
selectively permeable membrane from an area of high concentration to an area
of lower concentration. Osmosis is different from diffusion as only small
molecules such as water molecules can diffuse through the selectively
permeable membrane while larger molecules such as proteins are unable to do
so. Under this idea, osmolarity is the measure of solute concentration, as defined
by the number of solute particles per liter solution. In this case, how much NaCl
is dissolved in one liter of filtered water. In this experiment, we can show the
process of osmosis and calculate the osmolarity of a potato since potato cells
and plant cells have selectively permeable membranes. In general, plant cells
have a higher solute concentration than distilled water (Osmolarity = 0), making
distilled water a hypotonic solution with a higher concentration of water than
potato cells. This then cases water molecules to move into the cell via osmosis,
making the cell turgid and causing and increase in mass. However, the reverse
can be true with hypertonic solutions where there is a higher concentration of
water inside the cell, causing water to move of out the cell via osmosis making
the cell flaccid and decrease in mass. By submerging potato cells into Sodium
Chloride solutions of various concentration, we are hoping to find the isotonic
point where the water concentration is the same inside and outside of the cell
causing no net movement of water and no change in mass. The concentration of
the isotonic solution would then give us the estimated osmolarity of potato cells.

2. Investigation

Variables and Justification of Variables

Independent Variable: Osmolarity of sucrose solutions: 0.0M, 0.2M, 0.4M, 0.6M,

0.8M

 The independent variable is altered by soaking the Solanum tuberosum

tissue in sucrose solutions of 0.0M, 0.2M, 0.4M, 0.6M, 0.8M for 1 hour.
This variable was chosen to test the osmolarity of the tissue by simulating
a hypotonic, hypertonic and isotonic environment.

Dependent Variables: Length and weight of Solanum tuberosum sample

 The Length and weight of the Solanum tuberosum samples reflect the
amount of sucrose that was ingested in the process of soaking by osmosis.
Samples that are larger and heavier have ingested more sucrose, thus
meaning the environment is better suited for osmosis.

Controls

Volume of sucrose solutions

 All the sucrose solutions were of the same volume, only differing in the
sucrose concentration.

Time spent soaking

  All the samples were left to soak for 1 hour and put in the solution
simultaneously and taken out of it simultaneously.

Number of samples in each batch

 Each batch had 5 samples, that were left to soak in each of the solutions to
ensure fair calculations for each batch.

Temperature

 All the solutions and samples were in the same room, and the temperature
was the same throughout. This was to ensure identical conditions that
might affect osmosis.

Pressure

 All the solutions and samples were in the same room, and the pressure
was the same throughout. This was to ensure identical conditions that
might affect osmosis.

Solvent

 All the solutions were made with distilled water, so any impurities wouldn’t
affect the process of osmosis.

Type of sample

 All the samples were of the same species of Solanum tuberosum, having
the same features and osmolarity.

3. Procedure

3.1 Materials

 5 50mL glass beakers

 1 analytical balance (±0.001g)
 Spoon
  5 50 mL volumetric flasks (±0.05mL)
 Handful of potatoes
 Knife
 Ruler (±0.5mm)
 Drilling tool
 5 glass rods
 Paper towels
 Weighing dish
 Distilled water

3.2 Methodology

1. Create 50mL glucose solutions with the osmolarities of 0, 0.2, 0.4, 0.6
and 0.8M, and place them in separate 50 mL beakers by using steps
below.

a. First, measure out 50mL of distilled water using volumetric flask,

then add measured amount of glucose. [The calculation of how this
mass was obtained is included in the “Sample Calculations” section]

i. d H 2 O – 0g

ii. 0.2M – 1.802g

iii. 0.4 – 3.603g

iv. 0.6 – 5.406g

v. 0.8 – 7.206g

2. Create 25 identical 2cm long potato tissue samples using drilling tool.

3. Note down starting weight of tissue samples.

 4. Place five samples in each beaker and let soak for 60minutes, stirring
every 10 minutes.

5. After the 60 minutes, take out the samples, dry them off and note down
their final weight and length.

3.3 Ethical, Safety and Environmental Concerns.

In this experiment we were working with household materials that were safe for
human consumption, and the only concerns were ethical concerns pertaining to
the wasting of potatoes, why we needed do be careful as to waste as little as
possible. No risk during disposal or handling of materials.

4. Raw Data

Table 1: Length and weight of potato tissue samples before soaking.

Length/cm(±0.05) Mass/g(±0.001)
Sugar solution
dH 2 O 1.215 1.297 1.32 1.22 1.27
0.2M solution 1.183 1.2 1.24 1.30 1.27
0.4M solution 2 cm 1.294 1.304 1.30 1.24 1.25
0.6M solution 1.177 1.348 1.13 1.25 1.28
0.8M solution 1.191 1.341 1.29 1.08 1.27

Table 2: Length of Potato tissue samples after soaking.

Sugar solution Length/cm(±0.05)

dH 2 O 2.2 2.2 2.1 2.35 2.3
0.2M solution 1.8 2.1 2.05 1.95 2.1
0.4M solution 2.00 1.90 1.85 1.95 1.95
0.6M solution 1.95 1.60 1.95 1.80 2.00
0.8M solution 1.90 2.20 2.10 2.05 2.10
 Table 3: Weight of Potato tissue samples after soaking.

Sugar solution Mass/g(±0.001)

dH 2 O 1.052 1.308 1.405 1.453 1.418
0.2M solution 0.933 1.112 1.216 1.104 1.203
0.4M solution 1.09 1.04 1.11 0.72 1.03
0.6M solution 0.99 0.91 1.04 0.99 0.58
0.8M solution 1.28 1.34 1.34 1.39 1.17
5. Processed data

Table 4: processed data table

Sugar solution Change of mass/g

dH 2 O 0.163 0.125 0.111 0.276 0.227
0.2M solution 0.364 0.088 0.088 0.244 0.138
0.4M solution 0.23 0.21 0.19 0.41 0.26
0.6M solution 0.23 0.39 0.20 0.25 0.50
0.8M solution 0.02 0.07 0.09 0.12 0.10
Table 5: mean change of mass of each solution/ percentage change

Sugar solution Mean change of mass/g Percentage change/%

dH 2 O 0.107 +8%
0.2M solution 0.188 -17%
0.4M solution 0.268 -27%
0.6M solution 0.33 -37%
0.8M solution 0.035 +3%
Sample calculations

Mass of sugar in solution

( 186
20
÷ 5 )× 1 ,2 , 3 , 4

6. Conclusion/Evaluation

From this experiment we can’t conclude much, since the findings are
inconsistent, there was certainly a measuring error, probably in the process of
weighing out the samples after the soaking, since we had to mix them while
soaking periodically. This could’ve been avoided by numbering each sample. Our
findings aren’t conclusive since they don’t go with the rules of osmolarity of
tissues. After cross referencing with different studies, we concluded that the
osmolarity of potato tissue is around 0.4M which goes against our findings, that
show the osmolarity is between 0 and 0.2M. Next time we should be more careful
with how we organize the samples, and more concentrations, so the findings can
be more precise.