How Different Sucrose Solutions affect cells (potatoes) to find their isotonic point

Erin Bishop
Lab Partners: Jared and Curtis
9 November 2015 - 12 November 2015
Period 5 CP Biology II

Objective:
Use varying sucrose concentrations to determine the isotonic point of potatoes.

Variables:
The potatoes mass was measured before and after soaking in the sucrose solution giving
quantitative data. There was obvious change in the physical size of the potatoes, they either
grew or shrank due to the amount of sucrose in the surrounding solution, giving qualitative data.
Independent Variables

Amount of sucrose in the solutions.

Dependent Variables

Mass of potatoes before and after soaking in

sucrose solutions.

Controls

Amount of time potatoes were allowed to

soak in sucrose solution; size of potato
cells.

Constants

Amount of time potatoes soaked in solutions

Introduction:

A plasma membrane is the boundary that separates a living cell from its surroundings. The
plasma membrane is mainly made up of phospholipids, with various proteins embedded to it.
Phospholipids are capable of forming plasma membranes because they have hydrophilic heads,
which are exposed to the water in the body and cell, and hydrophobic tails, located on the inside
of the of the membrane, for they fear water. This layer made of two pairs of phospholipids,
with the tails facing each other, is called a phospholipid bilayer. It gives a plasma membrane
selective permeability, which is necessary to maintain the cell. Hydrophobic molecules can
dissolve into the bilayer, passing through the membrane rapidly. Polar molecules, however, have
a harder time passing through the membrane. Facilitated diffusion helps these polar molecules as
well as large molecules cross the membrane using transport proteins. These proteins bring
molecules from high to low concentration using channels. Simple and facilitated diffusion are
passive transport, needing no energy to cross the membrane. The diffusion of water across a
selectively permeable membrane is called osmosis. Water always goes from high solute
concentration to low solute concentration, and tries to balance cells. When the solute
concentration is less than that inside the cell, the cell will gain water, becoming hypotonic. When
the solute concentration is greater than that of a cell, the cell will lose water, becoming
hypertonic. Lastly, when the solute concentration is equal as that of a cell, no water will move
across the membrane. This is what is being observed in the lab.
Selective permeability- some substances can cross a barrier more easily than others.

Equipment and procedure:

For the lab, safety equipment includes an apron and goggles.

Equipment and materials needed to complete this lab include:

Varying sugar (sucrose) solutions
six cubes of potato cells
balance
weight boat
graduated cylinder
cups

The procedure goes as follows:

1. Use the following sugar (sucrose) solutions:
1 M = 34.2 g sucrose in 100 ml of water
0.8 M = 27.4 g sucrose in 100 ml of water
0.6 M = 20.5 g sucrose in 100 ml of water
0.4 M = 13.7 g sucrose in 100 ml of water
0.2 M = 6.8 g sucrose in 100 ml of water
0 M = NO sucrose in deionized water

2. Use six cubes of potato.

3. Mass each potato cube, place weight boat on balance before weighing, then write
down their initial mass in a table.

4. Soak the potatoes in 10 ml of the appropriate sucrose solution overnight.

5. Mass the potatoes again after taking them out of the solution using a weight boat
(gently pat dry off excess solution).

6. Calculate the percent (%) change in each potato cubes mass.

7. Graph points and figure out isotonic point.

Data:
Sucrose
Molarity

Initial Mass Final

(g)
Mass (g)

1M

1.6 g

1.4 g

0.8 M

1.6 g

1.6 g

0.6 M

1.7 g

1.6 g

0.4 M

1.7 g

1.9 g

0.2 M

1.7 g

2g

0M

1.4 g

1.6 g

Analysis of Data

Conclusion
Claim: The isotonic point of the model potato cells seems to be .625 M.
Evidence: On the graph above, at sucrose concentration 0.6 M was greater than that on the
outside of the cell, (1.7 g initial mass to 1,6 g final mass) and at 0.8 M, there was no change
(1.6 g initial mass to 1.6 g final mass). All sucrose solutions before 0.6 M had less sucrose than
the cell leading it to bloat (0.2 M- 1.7 g initial mass to 1.9 g final mass), and after 0.8, the
sucrose solution had more sucrose than the cell causing it to shrink (1 M- 1.6 g initial mass to
1.4 g final mass)
Reasoning: Due to the sucrose solutions before the 0.6 M solution having bloated the cell, it
shows that the solutions had less sucrose than the cells and couldnt possibly be the isotonic
point. Same goes for the last sucrose solution 1 M. There was more sucrose in the solution than

the cell, so the cell shriveled up. Even though at 0.6 M, the same result as the 1 M solution
occurred, and at 0.8 M there was no change, the 0.8 M solution only had one of six potato cubes.
While 0.8 may have been the isotonic point for that cell, it was not the same for the other cells,
proven by 0.6 having shrunk, instead of getting bloated. .625 M is the average sucrose
concentration of ALL of the cells.

Reflection:
The point of 0.6 M being negative could be viewed as a possible error in the lab, considering 0.8
M did not change at all. It is possible that, after using the graduated cylinder to pour the sucrose
solution into the cups for 0 M to 0.4 M, the cylinder was not washed out, leading to excess
sucrose in the 0.6 solution, cause it to be more concentrated than the cell. One major thing to
remember is to wash the graduated cylinder after pouring EACH solution into their individual
cup. There should be a way to accurately measure the amount of sucrose in each solution before
soaking the cell. That way, the results will be pure and accurate. Not being able to do this can
make the results of the lab less accurate. Another possible error is that the size of the potatoes
may differ from each other, and the solution may be measured inaccurately, resulting the cells
to soak in more of less than 10 ml of sucrose solutions. This would cause inaccurate data as well.
It would be beneficial to be as accurate as possible, and to avoid mistakes by having a serious
demeanor. Overall, there is a decent amount of confidence in the above results since they make
sense, and are not wildly out of range with the rest.