Emily Jones

Giannou
AP Biology
Dec. 12, 2014
I.
II.

Measuring the Rate of Diffusion and Osmosis

Introduction
a) What causes plants to wilt if they are not watered?
The purpose of this lab is to investigate the rate of diffusion of different solutions
in model cell and to investigate the rate of osmosis in plant cells (College Board,
2012).
b) Background Information
Cells must move materials through membranes in order to maintain homeostasis.
This movement is regulated by the selective permeability of cell membranes,
which are phospholipid bilayers that contain embedded proteins these
phospholipids are hydrophobic, allowing them to limit the movement of water.
Water, which carries dissolved solutes (such as salts), can move through cell
membranes either by osmosis, which is simply the diffusion of water and doesnt
require energy, or through specialized proteins called aquaporins, which do
require energy, but allows the water to move more quickly. Diffusion is the
simplest form of movement- it is when a solute moves from an area of high
concentration to an area of low concentration. There are three terms to describe
the movement of solutions through selectively permeable membranes: hypertonic,
which has a higher solute concentration and a lower water potential compared to
the other solution, hypotonic, which has a lower solute concentration and a higher
water potential compared to the other solution, and isotonic, where the solutions
have equal water potential (College Board, 2012). There is also solute potential,
which is a component of water potential that is proportional to the morality of a
solution and measures the effect of solutes on the direction of water movement,
and pressure potential, a component of water potential that consists of the

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physical pressure of a solution, which can be positive, zero, or negative (Reece,
769).
c) Procedure 2 Variables:
i. Dependent Variable: solution in bag
ii. Independent Variable: solution in cup
iii.
Constant: Cell model with water inside and outside cell
iv. Control: cups, dialysis tubing, balances, water, sucrose, glucose, NaCl
v. (College Board, 2012)
d) Procedure 3 Variables:
i. Dependent Variable: rate of osmosis
ii. Independent Variable: sucrose solutions
iii.
Constant: potatoes, cups, balance, razor blade
iv. Control: none.
v. (College Board, 2012)
e) Hypothesis for Procedure 2
The solution with the higher water potential will move into the solution with the
lower water potential. So, for the chosen pairs: Water (bag)/Water (cup) water
will not diffuse, water/glucose water will move into cup, sucrose/water water
will move into bag, sucrose/NaCl sucrose will move into cup.
f) Hypothesis for Procedure 3
A plant cell, when placed in various concentrations of sucrose solutions, will lose
weight, as water will diffuse out of the cell and into the sucrose solution. The
greater the concentration of the sucrose, the more water, and thus less weight, the
III.

plant cell will lose.

Method
a) Materials for Procedure 2
i. Distilled or tap water
ii. 1 M sucrose
iii.
1 M NaCl
iv. 1 M glucose
v. Marker
vi. 20 cm-long dialysis tube (x4)
vii. Cups (x4)
viii.
Balances
ix. (College Board, 2012)
b) Procedure 2
i. Choose 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

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cell in the cup. The first model cell will have water inside and outside as a
control. Before you start, make a prediction on whether the water will
diffuse into or out of the cell. Make sure to label your cups to indicate
ii.

what solution is inside the cell and inside the cup.

Make dialysis tubing by tying a knot in one end of four pieces of dialysis
tubing. Fill each cell with 10 mL of the selected solution, and knot the

iii.

other end, leaving enough space for water to diffuse into the cell.
Weigh each cell, record the initial weight, and then place it into a cup
filled with the second solution for that pair. Be sure to place each tubing in
the cups at the same time. Weigh the cell after 30 minutes and record the

iv.

final weight.
Calculate the percent change in weight using the following formula: (final

initial)/initial X 100. Record the results.

v. (College Board, 2012)
c) Materials for Procedure 3
i. Potatoes
ii. Cork borers
iii.
Balances
iv. Metric rulers
v. 6 cups
vi. Color-coded sucrose solutions of different, but unlabeled concentrations
prepared by your teacher.
vii. Razor blades
viii.
(College Board, 2012)
d) Procedure 3
i. Core the potato and cut 18 one cm pieces.
ii. Weigh the pieces in groups of three and record the initial weight.
iii.
Label the cups for each solution and fill them the appropriate solution.
iv. Put 3 pieces of potatoes into each solution. Be sure to place all the pieces
v.
IV.

at the same time. Wait 30 minutes.

Remove the pieces and carefully dry them. Weigh the pieces, again in

group of threes, and record results.

Data and Calculations
a) Data Table for Procedure 2

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Modeling Rate of Diffusion For Different Pairs of Solution
1
2
3
Bag Solution
water
water
sucrose
Cup Solution
water
glucose
water
Prediciton
water will not
water will move water will move
diffuse
into the cup
into the bag
Initial Mass (g)
Final Mass (g)
Percent Change

8.95
8.4
-6.10%
(bag to cup)

7
6.1
-12.48%
(bag to cup)

8.1
9.1
12.35%
(cup to bag)

4
sucrose
NaCl
sucrose will
move into the
cup
12.4
13
4.84%
(cup to bag)

b) Graph for Procedure 2

The Percent Change for Diffusion for Different Pairs of Solutions

15.00%

10.00%

5.00%
Percent Change
Percent Change

0.00%
1

-5.00%

-10.00%

-15.00%
Solution Pairs

c) Data Table for Procedure 3

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Percent Change in Mass in Potato Cells

0

0.
2

Initial Mass (g)

8.2

Final Mass (g)

8.5
3.6
6

8
0
%

Percent Mass Change

0.
4
0.6
0.8
1
9.
1
8.5
8.7
8.7
9.
1
8.1
8.5
8
0
% -4.71% -2.29% -8.05

d) Graph for Procedure 3

Change in Mass In Potato Cells in Different Sucrose Solutions

1200.00%

1000.00%

800.00%

600.00%

400.00%

200.00%

0.00%
0

10

12

e) Data Table for Procedure 3 Class Data

Change in Mass of Potato Cells in Different Sucrose Solutions
Class Data

Percent (%)Group Mass

Change in

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1
2
3
4
5
6

Sucrose Solution (M)

0
0.2
0.4
-1.16% -1.64% -1.74%
3.50% -1.44% -2.87%
5.00%
1.00% -2.80%
25.00%
2.80% -0.95%
3.66%
0.00%
0.00%
5.81% -4.72% -0.92%

0.6
-3.28%
-4.33%
-5.40%
17.50%
-5.71%
-4.72%

0.8
-5.93%
-7.83%
-4.20%
13.50%
-2.29%
-2.94%

1
-9.01%
-7.18%
-7.80%
16.67%
-8.05%
-4.76%

Mean
Standard
Deviation

6.89%
9.16%

-0.67%
2.58%

-1.55%
1.14%

-0.82%
9.10%

-1.62%
7.68%

-3.35%
9.91%

Standard
Error

3.74%

1.05%

0.47%

3.71%

3.13%

4.05%

f) Graph for Procedure 3 Class Data

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Average Change in Mass in Potato Cells in Different Sucrose Solutions

1200.00%

1000.00%

800.00%

600.00%

400.00%

200.00%

0.00%
0

10

12

g) Calculations
The average was calculated by adding up all the variables and then dividing by

V.

the number of variables.

Ex. (-1.16 + 3.5 + 5 + 25 + 3.66 + 5.81)/6 = 6.89
The x-intercept is the amount of solute in the potato.
Ex. y = -0.0152x + 0.0515
0 = -0.0152x + 0.0515
-0.0515 = -0.0152x
(-0.0515)/(-0.0152) = x
3.389 = x
Conclusions and Evalutions
a) Conclusion for Procedure 2:
In conclusion, with water in the bag and in the cup, water would diffuse from the
bag into the cup, because the water in the bag was hypotonic to the water in the
cup; with water in the bag and glucose in the cup, water would diffuse from the
bag to the cup, because the water was hypotonic to the glucose; with sucrose in

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the bag and water in the cup, water would diffuse from the cup to the bag because
the water was hypertonic to the sucrose; and with sucrose in the bag and NaCl in
the cup, NaCl would diffuse from the cup into the bag, because the NaCl was
hypotonic to the sucrose. Overall, water and NaCl are more likely to move to
areas of low concentration than sugars like glucose and sucrose because water and
NaCl are smaller molecules compared to the sugars.
b) Evaluating Procedure 2
This was a relatively simple lab with clear instructions even though the concept
was hard to understand. In addition, the dialysis tubing caused some problems as
some people had trouble tying the ends of the bags, causing air bubbles to get
trapped in the tubing, which could have altered the data.
c) Improving Investigation for Procedure 2
One way to improve this procedure would have been to dye the solutions different
colors, that way one could see the movement of the solution into or out of the bag.
This would have clearly illustrated the concept being learned and would have
been a good visual to accompany and explain the rate of diffusion found through
weighing the tubings. In addition, there could be a better way to tie off the ends of
the tubing, like with a wire or such, which would be easier than tying the tubing
itself and eliminate the confounding variable of air bubbles.
d) Conclusion for Procedure 3
For the 0 M sucrose solution, the potato gained weight, resulting in a 3.66%
change; for the .2 M sucrose solution, the potato neither gained nor lost weight,
resulting in a 0% change; for the .4 M sucrose solution, the potato neither gained
nor lost weight, resulting in a 0% change; for the .6 M sucrose solution, the potato
lost weight, resulting in a -4.71% change; for the .8 M sucrose solution, the potato
lost weight, resulting in a -2.29% change; and for the 1 M sucrose solution, the

Jones 9
potato lost weight, resulting in a -8.05% change. Based on the average percent
change from the class data, we know that the amount of solute in the potato is
3.389 M.
e) Evaluating Procedure 3
This was a simple lab to create and implement, and easier to understand than
Procedure 2. The color-coded solution made it easy to identify the concentrations
quickly and efficiently.
f) Improving Investigations for Procedure 3
One way to improve this procedure would be to test different types of potato
pieces for instance, drying some pieces out, and soaking others, to see the effect
this has on osmosis. This would clearly illustrate the role of water in this lab,
which may not be completely clear in the original lab.
VI.

Literature Citation
a) AP Biology Investigative Labs: An Inquiry-Based Approach. New York: College
Board, 2012: S51 S59. Print.
b) Reece, Jane B., Lisa A. Urry, Michael L. Cain, Steven A. Wasserman, Peter V.
Minorsky, and Robert B. Jackson. Campbell Biology. 9th ed. San Francisco:
Pearson Education, Inc., 2011. Print.