Name: Mary Ward

Class: AP Biology

Experiment #: 2

Date of Experiment: December 13-14, 18

Title:

The effect of different concentrations of solutions on diffusion and osmosis

 Abstract
The purpose of this experiment was to determine how different solutions with different
concentrations travel in and out of cell membranes. Determining how different solutions of
different concentrations travel in and out of cell membranes will give students a better
understanding of diffusion and osmosis. This experiment lets students have a hands on activity to
see how solutions with different concentrations pass in and out of cell membranes and even cell
walls.
In this experiment dialysis tubing was used to represent cell membranes. Dialysis tubing
is made from a material that is selectively permeable to water and other solutes, similarly to cell
membranes. In procedure two of this lab there were five solutions to choose from: distilled
water, sucrose, NaCl, glucose, and ovalbumin. The experimenters decided to have sucrose in
water, ovalbumin in NaCl, sucrose in glucose, NaCl in glucose, and the control solution was
water in water. The first solution went into the dialysis tubing and the second solution is where
the dialysis tubing was placed after being tied off with the first solution inside. The weight of the
solutions in the dialysis tubing was measured before it was placed in the second solution and
after 20 minutes of being in the second solution. The hypothesis for procedure two is that the
dialysis tubes placed in a solution with a high solute concentration will weigh more after 20
minutes of sitting in the solution.
In procedure three part A Elodea leaves were studied under a light microscope. There
were five different Elodea stems in various solutions: sucrose, NaCl, glucose, ovalbumin, and
water. Each group took leaves from every solution and placed them under a microscope to
compare the effects of different solutions with different concentrations on diffusion and osmosis.
The hypothesis for procedure three part A is that the leaves placed in solution with a higher
concentration of solutes will cause the cells within the leaf to swell. In procedure three part B
sweet potatoes were placed in a 100 mL of different color coded sucrose solutions with different
concentrations. The weight of the sweet potato pieces were weighed before being placed in the
sucrose solutions and after 30 minutes of sitting in the sucrose solutions. The hypothesis for
procedure three part B is that the sweet potato pieces placed in a solution with higher sucrose
concentration will obtain a heavier weight than pieces placed in a solution with slightly lower
levels of sucrose concentrations.

Materials and Equipment Used

Procedure 2:
● Distilled/tap water
● 1 M sucrose
● 1 M NaCl
● 1 M glucose
● 5% ovalbumin (egg white protein)
 ● 20 cm-long dialysis tubing
● Cups
● Balances
Procedure 3A:
● Elodea leaves
● Microscope
● 5% Ovalbumin
● 1 M glucose
● 1 M sucrose
● 1 M NaCl
● Cups
● Slides
● Forceps
● Pipette
Procedure 3B:
● Potatoes, Sweet Potatoes, or Yams
● Cork borers or french fry cutter
● Balances
● Metric rulers
● Cups
● Color-coded sucrose solutions of different, but unlabeled, concentrations prepared by
your teacher

Procedure and methods

Procedure 2:
1. Choose up to four pairs of different solutions. One solution from each pair will be in the
model cell of dialysis tubing, and the other will be outside the cell in the cup. Your fifth
model cell will have water inside and outside: this is your control. Before starting, use
your knowledge about solute gradients to predict whether the water will diffuse into or
out of the cell. Make sure you label the cups to indicate what solution is inside the cell
and inside the cup.
2. Make dialysis tubing cells by tying knot in one end of five pieces of dialysis tubing. Fill
each “cell” with 10 mL of the solution you chose for the inside, and knot the other end,
leaving enough space for water to diffuse into the cell.
3. Weigh each cell, record the initial weight, and then place it into a cup filled with the
second solution for that pair. Weigh the cell after 20 minutes and record the final weight.
4. Calculate the percent change in weight using the following formula: (final-initial)/initial
X 100. Record your results.
Procedure 3A:
1. Start by looking at a single leaf blade from either Elodea (a water plant) or a leaf-like
structure from ​Mnium hornum​ (a moss) under the light microscope. If you need
assistance, your teacher will show you how to place specimens on a slide.
2. Test one of four solutions from Procedure 2 and find out if what you predicted is what
happens. When you are done, ask other students what they saw. Be sure to record all of
your procedures, calculations, and observations.

Procedure 3B:
1. Cut the sweet potatoes into small pieces.
2. Label the 5 cups either A, B, C, D, or W.
3. Put 100 mL of sucrose solution A into cup A, 100 mL of sucrose solution B into cup B,
100 mL of sucrose solution C into cup C, 100 mL of sucrose solution D into cup D, and
100 mL of water into cup W (control).
4. Weigh each sweet potato piece before putting it in the solution.
5. Put the a sweet potato piece into each cup and let it sit there for 30 minutes.
6. After 30 minutes weigh each sweet potato piece again.

Results

Procedure 2: Dialysis tubing weight

Solutions Sucrose in Ovalbumin Sucrose in NaCl in Water in
Water in NaCl Glucose Glucose Water

Initial 16.24g 10.6g 9.7g 8.76g 7.72g

Weight

After 20 16.2g 11.2g 11.1g 9.1g 8.4g

minutes

In procedure two various solutions were placed inside dialysis tubing and tied off to
prevent leakage. These tubes were then placed in a second solution to observe the rate of
diffusion and osmosis. The independent variables were the second solutions inside the cups. The
dependent variable was the change in weight of the dialysis tubing after being placed into the
second solution.
 Procedure 3A: Elodea leaves
Solutions Observations Swell of Pictures
Shrink?

Glucose Slightly swollen Swell

cells

Sucrose Swollen cells Swell

NaCl Cells appear Swell

slightly swollen
and specs were
seen

Ovalbumin Cells are Swell

significantly
swollen

Water Cells are tightly Shrink

packed
 The results of procedure three part A were that the cells of the Elodea leaves placed into
the solutions swelled while the control solution (water) stayed tightly compact. The cells of the
Elodea leaves placed in NaCl and glucose were slightly more swollen than the control solution.
The cells of the Elodea leaves placed in sucrose and ovalbumin were significantly more swollen
than the control solution. The independent variable in this experiment were the various solutions
and the dependent variable are the Elodea leaves.

Procedure 3B: Sweet potato weight

Solutions A (Clear) B (Green) C (Blue) D (Yellow) W (Water)

Initial 4.0g 4.9g 4.0g 5.4g 2.7g

Weight

After 30 5.0g 5.6g 4.8g 6.2g 3.7g

minutes

In procedure three part B sweet potatoes were weighed before and after being placed in
various concentrations of sucrose to determine the rate of diffusion and osmosis. The
independent variables were the sucrose solutions. The dependent variable was the change in
weight of the sweet potato pieces before and after being placed into the sucrose solutions.

Analysis/Conclusion
The outcome of this experiment showed how solutions with various concentrations pass
in and out of cell membranes. The amount of solute affects how the substances pass through cell
membranes via diffusion and osmosis. In procedure two the hypothesis was validated because
each dialysis tube ,except one, weighed more after 20 minutes of sitting in the second solution.
The one solution that didn’t weigh more was sucrose placed in water, but it didn’t lose any
weight it just stayed exactly the same. In procedure three part A the hypothesis was validated
because all of the plant cells became swollen. About half of the plants became significantly
swollen while the other half were only slightly swollen. Nonetheless all the plants cells swelled.
In procedure three part B the hypothesis was validated because each sweet potato piece weighed
more after sitting in the solution for 30 minutes. All the sweet potato pieces increased its weight
by about one gram. The purpose of this experiment was fulfilled because students were able to
perform hands activities that increased their knowledge of diffusion and osmosis. Students saw
that solutions with a higher solute concentration will travel into the cell at a higher rate than
solutions with a lower solute concentration.
There were errors in this experiment that could have affected the results. The main
problem with this lab is the lack of directions. In multiple parts of this experiment students were
supposed to design their own experiment which could have caused errors. Since students
basically made their own experiment vital steps could have been forgotten. There were no tables
to put data in which could have caused students misplace their data.
For further investigation of this experiment scientists could use a wider variety of
solutions of different concentrations. In procedure two instead of having four solutions with one
control solutions scientists could use more solutions with a wider range of solute concentration.
In procedure three part A perhaps another plant could be used. The plant used in the experiment
was the Elodea plant which is a water plant so maybe future experimenters could use a land
based plant, freshwater based plant, and saltwater based plant. In procedure three part B only
sweet potatoes were used so in the future experimenters could use both regular potatoes and
sweet potatoes to see if there is a difference between the two.

Background Research and Bibliography

This experiment was all about diffusion and osmosis. Diffusion is the simplest form of
movement across the cell membrane. Solutes move from an are of high concentration to an area
of low concentration. The reason this process takes place can be attributed to the random kinetic
motion of molecules and does not require any energy. Osmosis is the movement of water through
the cell membrane. Like solutes, water moves down in concentration so from high water
potential (low solute concentration) to low water potential (high solute concentration). Solutions
can be hypertonic, hypotonic, or isotonic. A hypertonic solution has a high solute concentration
so water will move into the solution. A hypotonic solution has a low solute concentration so
water will move down the concentration gradient into the other solution. An isotonic solution has
the same solute concentration inside and out of the cell so no movement occurs.

(2013). ​Diffusion and Osmosis.​ Retrieved from

http://media.collegeboard.com/digitalServices/pdf/ap/bio-manual/Bio_Lab4-Diffusionand
Osmosis.pdf