Lab Report: Osmosis Essay -- essays research papers

Aim The aim of this experiment is to investigate the effects of different concentrations of sugar solutions on the rate of osmosis in plant cells. Equipment 5mm borer Knife White Tile Potatoes Beakers Measuring cylinder Stopwatch Sugar solutions Paper towels Balance Pipette Scientific knowledge Osmosis Osmosis is the movement of water particles from an area of high concentration to an area of lower concentration across a selectively permeable membrane. Cell in pure water The cell membranes of all plants are semi-permeable. Cell sap in the vacuole of a plant cell is a strongly concentrated solution consisting of mainly glucose and sugars. When a plant cell is placed into pure water, water is drawn in by osmosis. This is because there is a higher concentration of water surrounding the cell then inside the cell. This dilutes the plant cell and makes it swell. At the same time, the sugar solution leaves the cell and diffusion occurs. This usually results in equilibrium. When the plant cell is full of water, the weight increases and we say that it is turgid. The cell wall prevents the cell from bursting. Cell in a strong sugar solution When a plant cell is placed in a strong sugar solution, there is more water in the cell then in the surrounding solution, so water is drawn out by osmosis. This makes the cell decrease in weight and it becomes flaccid... ... sure that on my behalf, my results are accurate. I took two sets of results and I used a small measuring cylinder with  ±0.2 cm3 of human error, which is very small. Also when measuring I put the cylinder on a flat surface and read from the meniscus. To transfer the sugar solutions I used a pipette to transfer liquid accurately. I kept the variables, such as temperature and volume of sugar solution the same each time to make my test fair. I could extend this coursework by experimenting with surface area and size by using different sized borers and lengths. I could also see how the rate of osmosis is different when using a synthetic potato cell, such as visking tubing. I could also use different sugars, such as glucose and fructose and see how the rate of osmosis changes. I could experiment with different types of potatoes and the altered rate of osmosis in them. Lab Report: Osmosis Essay -- essays research papers Aim The aim of this experiment is to investigate the effects of different concentrations of sugar solutions on the rate of osmosis in plant cells. Equipment 5mm borer Knife White Tile Potatoes Beakers Measuring cylinder Stopwatch Sugar solutions Paper towels Balance Pipette Scientific knowledge Osmosis Osmosis is the movement of water particles from an area of high concentration to an area of lower concentration across a selectively permeable membrane. Cell in pure water The cell membranes of all plants are semi-permeable. Cell sap in the vacuole of a plant cell is a strongly concentrated solution consisting of mainly glucose and sugars. When a plant cell is placed into pure water, water is drawn in by osmosis. This is because there is a higher concentration of water surrounding the cell then inside the cell. This dilutes the plant cell and makes it swell. At the same time, the sugar solution leaves the cell and diffusion occurs. This usually results in equilibrium. When the plant cell is full of water, the weight increases and we say that it is turgid. The cell wall prevents the cell from bursting. Cell in a strong sugar solution When a plant cell is placed in a strong sugar solution, there is more water in the cell then in the surrounding solution, so water is drawn out by osmosis. This makes the cell decrease in weight and it becomes flaccid... ... sure that on my behalf, my results are accurate. I took two sets of results and I used a small measuring cylinder with  ±0.2 cm3 of human error, which is very small. Also when measuring I put the cylinder on a flat surface and read from the meniscus. To transfer the sugar solutions I used a pipette to transfer liquid accurately. I kept the variables, such as temperature and volume of sugar solution the same each time to make my test fair. I could extend this coursework by experimenting with surface area and size by using different sized borers and lengths. I could also see how the rate of osmosis is different when using a synthetic potato cell, such as visking tubing. I could also use different sugars, such as glucose and fructose and see how the rate of osmosis changes. I could experiment with different types of potatoes and the altered rate of osmosis in them.