SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL

General Biology I
Laboratory Information Sheet Name: _________________________________
Cell Membrane and Cell Transport Grade – Section: ____________ CN:_________

Cell Transport is the movement of materials across the cell Preparation before the Lab:
membrane of the cell. Cells must obtain nutrients from their  Read and understand the procedure in advance.
environment and eliminate wastes in order to survive. Thus,  Bring your mobile device for your experiment
the cell membrane possess properties that enable it to documentation and micrographs.
 Read the guide questions in advance and take note of
regulate the movement of materials in and out of the cell. important details during the conduct of the experiment.
What do you think is the property of the cell membrane Required to Submit:
that is responsible for this regulation? Cells live in an  Formal Laboratory Report per group
aqueous environment, and the relative concentration of  Deadline is a week after the 2nd day of the laboratory
solutes and solvents (solutions) inside and outside of the cell experiment date
has a direct influence on the direction of movement of Tip for time efficiency:
materials through the cell membrane.  There will be two (2) laboratory days allotted for this
experiment.
In this experiment you will gather evidence that will show if  The laboratory experiment is divided into three (3
indeed the cell membrane is semi-permeable. If the cell parts), the observation of the results for the Allium cepa
(onion) and dialysis set-up experiment can only be done
membrane is semipermeable, then this membrane will
after 24 hours.
allow some materials to pass through it, and will do so at  The set-ups should be completed within the 1st LAB
different rates, while not allowing others to pass through it period. The set-ups will be set-aside in the laboratory
at all. Very small solutes pass through the cell membrane for observation during the next lab meeting.
through diffusion, moving down a concentration gradient,  The observation of results for the Allium sepa (onion)
and dialysis set-up experiment will be done and should
from an area of high solute concentration going to an area be completed during the 2nd laboratory period.
of low solute concentration, without the help of membrane
proteins. If molecules are too large to pass through the lipid bilayer membrane proteins are used and this process
is called facilitated diffusion. On the other hand, the passage of a solvent (water) across a semipermeable
membrane is called osmosis, still following the concentration gradient.
In this experiment, you will be working with solutions with different tonicities (solute concentrations). A solution is
hypertonic (hyperosmotic) if it has a higher concentration of solutes compared to the internal environment of the
cell in it. A solution is hypotonic (hypoosmotic) if it has a lower concentration of solutes compared to the cell, and
it is isotonic (isoosmotic) if it has the same concentration of solutes as the internal environment of the cell in it.
The movement of water during osmosis occurs to achieve equilibrium (balanced solute concentration), inside and
outside of the cell. Water always moves towards the direction where there is higher solute concentration
(hypertonic side).

Materials prepared for the class: Materials needed per group:

distilled water, 0.01 M NaCl solution, 0.05 1 microscope, 1 glass slide, 1 cover slip, 1 filter paper, 3 onion
M NaCl solution, Hydrilla leaves, starch rings (not necessarily of the same size), 3 petri dishes with cover,
solution, and iodine solution one graduated cylinder, improvised dialyzing membrane, one 100
mL beaker, yarn, and 5-6 inches sticks, Pasteur pipettes, graphing
paper, and ruler

Objectives:
At the end of this laboratory exercise, the student should be able to:
1. observe the process of cell transport through the cell membrane;
2. compare different types of solutions based on their relative tonicities;
3. identify the properties of semi-permeability in the cell membrane; and,

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 4. gather data that shows the movement of materials (solutes and solvent) across a semi-permeable
membrane

PART I: Responses of Hydrilla leaf cells to solutions with different tonicities

In this part of laboratory activity, you will be observing the responses of Hydrilla leaf cells to solutions of different
tonicities. Hydrilla leaf cells would relatively have 0.01 M sodium chloride as osmotic concentration in its internal
environment. Hydrilla leaf cells are rectangular in shape and possesses chloroplasts. When water moves out of the
cell, the cell volume decreases causing the cell to shrivel, and the cell membrane to move away from the cell wall.
This phenomenon is referred to as plasmolysis.
1. Prepare a wet mount of a single Hydrilla leaf in a clean glass slide. Using a pipette, add 2 to 3 drops of 0.01
M NaCl solution and place a coverslip. If necessary, add more salt solution at the edge of the coverslip. This
is to prevent the specimen from drying out, so as not to obtain erroneous results.
2. Examine the whole mount of the leaf under the low power objective (LPO). Locate a portion with only a
single layer of cells and focus under high power objective (HPO). Observe the cells. Note that that the
chloroplasts undergo protoplasmic streaming or cyclosis. Draw one Hydrilla leaf cell from the FOV under
HPO. Take a micrograph using a mobile phone or device.
3. Remove the slide from the stage of the microscope. Using the same wet mount, withdraw the 0.01M NaCl
solution off from the other side with the use of filter paper. In this way, 0.01 M NaCl can be replaced with
the more concentrated solution without lifting the coverslip.
4. Then, add 2 to 3 drops of 0.50 M NaCl at one edge of the coverslip. Again, under HPO focus on one particular
cell and observe the changes that occurred. Draw one Hydrilla leaf cell from the FOV under HPO. Take a
micrograph using a mobile phone or device.
5. Remove the slide from the stage of the microscope. Using the same wet mount, withdraw the 0.50 M NaCl
solution off from the other side with the use of filter paper.
6. This time, add 2 to 3 drops of distilled water. Again, under HPO focus on one particular cell and observe
the changes that occurred. Draw one Hydrilla leaf cell from the FOV under HPO. Take a micrograph using a
mobile phone or device.
7. Record all your data and present them in the formal laboratory report with the proper titles and labels.

PART II: Responses of Allium cepa (onion) bulb cells to solutions of different tonicities
1. Blot dry the three onion rings using tissue paper. Place the three onion rings on separate graphing papers.
2. Trace the outermost periphery or outline of each ring using a pencil. Measure the diameter of the onion
ring (in cm) using a ruler (length and width). Read your measurements applying the correct precision of of
your measuring device.
3. Calculate the surface area occupied by the onion ring on your graphing paper. Record your data on the lab
activity sheet.
4. Place each of the three onion rings in separate petri dishes. Pour 12 mL of each of the following solutions
in each of the petri dishes with onion rings: distilled water, 0.01 M NaCl, and 0.05 M NaCl. Cover the petri
dishes. Label the dishes properly using masking tape. Set the set-ups aside in a designated laboratory table.
5. Observe for results after 24 hours.
6. Blot dry the onion rings using tissue paper.
7. Trace the outermost periphery or outline of each ring using a pencil in a graphing paper. Measure the
diameter (length and width) of the onion ring using a ruler. Express your measurements using the correct
precision.
8. Calculate the surface area occupied by the onion ring on your graphing paper after 24 hours. Record your
data on the lab activity sheet.
9. Dispose the onion rings properly. Clean the petri dishes and return to the laboratory technicians.
10. Record all your data and present them in the formal laboratory report with the proper titles and labels.

PART III: Passing through of materials through an improvised dialyzing membrane

1. One of the conditions of semi-permeability is that some substances which can pass through a semi-
permeable membrane do so in different ways. To test this condition, obtain one piece of the improvised
dialyzing membrane.

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 2. Wet the membrane in distilled water in a beaker. Open it using your fingers. Close off one end by tying it
securely using a yarn. Make sure to have enough yarn to hold on because this bag will be tied on a stick
and will be immersed in distilled water in a beaker.
3. Test for any leak by putting distilled water. If there is no leak, fill the sack with the starch solution. The sack
should not be too full but somewhat flaccid. Tie off the other end tightly to close the dialysis bag.
4. Weigh the dialyzing bag after blot drying using tissue paper. Record the mass in your lab activity sheet.
5. After weighing, tie the bag on a stick, and immerse it in the iodine solution provided inside a 250 mL beaker.
6. Set the dialysis set-up aside, and wait for 24 hours to observe the results.
7. After 24 hours, observe the changes in the set-up and weight the dialysis bag.
8. Record all your data and present them in the formal laboratory report with the proper titles and labels.
____________________________________________________________________________________________
Sources:
Duka, I. M., Diaz, M. G. Q., and Villa, N. O., General Biology 1: An investigative approach (9th edition), University of the
Philippines Los Baños. Laguna Philippines. 2009.
Preparing a Dialysis Set-up
https://www.gbiosciences.com/image/pdfs/protocol/BE-603_protocol.pdf

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