BIO 12 UNIT 04: The Cell Membrane

BCLN Rev. July, 2015

Potato in Seawater Osmosis Lab

Name: Caleb Cheung
August 30th 2016
Bio 12-Unit 4
Ms. Chen
Performed August 30th
Osmosis Lab:
INTRODUCTION
A shipwrecked sailor is stranded on a small desert island with no fresh water to drink. She knows
she could last without food for up to a month, but if she didn't have water to drink she would be
dead within a week. Hoping to postpone the inevitable, her thirst drove her to drink the salty
seawater. She was dead in two days. Why do you think drinking seawater killed the sailor faster
than not drinking any water at all? In this lab you will explore the cause of the sailor's death. You
will prepare solutions of salt water to represent the seawater and then you will cut up slices of
potato to represent. the sailor's cells as both the potato and the sailor are made up of cells

PURPOSE
To determine the cause of the sailor's death, you will determine the effects of salt water on slices
of potato. The assumption is that potato cells will behave like the sailor's cells in her body. You
will compare the potatoes in salt water versus fresh water to determine if there is an effect caused
by the salt in the water. The fresh water acts as a control in this experiment.

HYPOTHESIS
Due to osmosis, I believe if the percentage of seawater in a solution is raised then the potato slice
in that respective solution will become heavier, more crisp and longer as it fills with water.

MATERIALS

1 or 2 large potatoes
sharp knife
salt
water
ruler
food scale
1 clean 500 mL bottle or jar
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3 clean 250-500 mL bottles or jars

paper towel
stove
pot
tape and pen for labelling
4 plastic or glass cups or mugs
Saran wrap

BIO 12 UNIT 04: The Cell Membrane

BCLN Rev. July, 2015

rubber bands to go around cups

cork or apple corer (if available)

PROCEDURE
1. To determine if the salt in the water has an effect on the potato cells, you first need to cut
4 equal sized slices of potato to represent the sailor. To do this:
i. Take a large potato and carefully cut one end square, then
measure 8 cm to the other end and cut it square. Now if you have
a corer available, stand the potato on one end and push the corer
through the potato to get 4 core samples. Align the four core
samples and trim them to precisely the same length.
ii.

If you do not have a corer you will need to use the knife to carefully cut off one
edge so that the potato can sit flat on the cutting board and then proceed to cut
four equally sized and shaped pieces from the potato (aim for 4 pieces that are 1
cm x 1cm x 8 cm)

iii.

Once you have 4 potato slices that are the same shape and length (~8 cm) record
their precise lengths and masses in Table 2 of the results section below.

2. Now make your "seawater" solutions.

i.

Heat 500 mL of water in a pot on the stove until it reaches a boil. Turn water off
and start adding salt, 1 teaspoon at a time, stirring thoroughly after adding each
teaspoon. Keep adding salt until it will no longer dissolve and there are salt
crystals settling to the bottom of the pan after stirring. You have now made a
saturated salt solution and this represents you 100% "seawater". Allow solution
to cool to room temperature and then pour into a clean 500 mL bottle and label as
"100% seawater".

ii.

Now use your "100% seawater" to make 100 mL of the following diluted
solutions of sea water:
"10% sea water"
"5% sea water"
"1% sea water"
Note: It is fairly easy to do percentage based dilutions if you start with a
100% stock solution and make up 100 mL of the desired diluted solution.
To do this use the following:
If desired solution = X % then add X mL of the 100% solution to
enough mL of pure water to add up to 100 mL total volume
For example to make a 75% solution you would mix 75 mL of the
100% solution with 25 mL of pure water to get a total of 100 mL
of a 75% solution
And to make up a 65% solution you would mix 65 mL of the 100%
solution with 35 mL of pure water to get a total of 100 mL of a
65% solution.
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Please do the math and record the volumes needed to make up your
10%, 5% and 1% solutions in Table 1 of the results section below.

3. Label each of 4 cups as 10%, 5%, 1% and 0% (pure water), respectively. Then place 100
mL of the appropriate solution into the appropriately labeled cups.
4. Place one potato slice in each cup. Please be sure that you have precisely measured and
recorded the lengths and masses of the potato slices into Table 1 of the results section
below. There should not be any variances in lengths at this point and if there are any
small variances in masses be sure to accurately record which mass of potato went into
which % of solution.
5. Cover each cup with the saran wrap and elastic band and leave the cups in a safe place
overnight. Why is it important to cover the cups with saran wrap?
6. After approximately 24 hours, remove potato from its solution, gently and quickly blot
dry on paper towel and then measure and record its length and mass in Table 2 of the
results section below. Use a + or sign to indicate increases or decreases, respectively,
in mass and/or length (ex., if the potato increased in length by 2 mm record + 2 mm, if the
potato decreased in mass by 0.25 g record -0.25 g).
7. Graph the Change is Mass data in Figure 1 of the results section. Keep in mind the
independent variable is the variable that you are manipulating in the lab and should be
placed on the x-axis while the dependent variable is the variable you are measuring in the
lab and should be placed on the y-axis. The data points should be placed where the %
solution and its respective change in mass intersect. Once all data points are recorded a
line-of-best fit should be draw on the graph.

RESULTS
Table 1. Creating Diluted "Seawater" Solutions. (__/3)

Dilution of Solution

Volume of "100%
Seawater" (mL)

Volume of Pure Water

(mL)

Total Volume of Diluted

Solution (mL)

10%

10 mL

90 mL

100

5%

5 mL

95 mL

100

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BIO 12 UNIT 04: The Cell Membrane

BCLN Rev. July, 2015

1%

1 ml

99 mL

100

0%
(pure water)

100

100

Table 2. Mass and Length of Potato Slice Before and After Being Left in Various "% Seawater" Solutions
for 24 Hours. (___/8)

10% "Seawater"
Solution

5% "Seawater"
Solution

1% "Seawater"
Solution

0% "Seawater"
Solution (Pure
Water)

Initial Length of
Potato (mm)

8.3cm

8.3cm

8.2cm

8.0cm

Final Length of
Potato (mm)

8.0cm

8.6cm

8.5cm

8.4cm

Change in Potato
Length (mm)

-0.3cm

0.3cm

0.3cm

0.4cm

Initial Mass Potato

(g)

7.5g

7.5g

7.5g

7.1g

Final Mass Potato

(g)

4.5g

8.0g

7.9g

7.6g

Change in Potato
Mass (g)

-3.0g

0.5g

0.4g

0.5g

Turgidity of Potato
(flaccid or crisp)

flaccid

crisp

crisp

crisp

Predicted Tonicity
of Potato

Hypertonic

Hypertonic

Isotonic

Hypotonic

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BIO 12 UNIT 04: The Cell Membrane

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Compared to
Solution
(Hypertonic,
Isotonic, or
Hypotonic)

Change in mass

1.5
1
0.5
0
-0.5

10

12
Change in mass

-1

Linear (Change in mass)

-1.5
-2
y = -0.3339x + 0.9355

-2.5
-3
-3.5

Figure 1. Mass Change of Potato Slices Left in Various "% Seawater" Solutions for 24
Hours. (___/3proper axes titles including units and appropriate scales, line of best fit)

WRITE-UP
Please prepare a formal lab write-up using the criteria found in the Formal Lab Write-Up section
of this unit. Include the following sections for this lab:

Title
Introduction
Purpose
Hypothesis
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Materials
Procedure
Results (you can cut and paste from the lab handout)
Discussion and Conclusion (numbered answers to the questions listed in the Discussion
and Conclusions section below)

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION

1. The potato slices succumbed to osmosis overnight and either became crisp or flaccid
2. They became crisp or flaccid depending on the solution they were placed in. The 0%,
1%, and 5% solutions turned out to be hypotonic solutions as they made the potato slices
crisp while the 10% solution was a hypertonic solution as it made the potato slice flaccid
3. Osmosis was involved because Osmosis is defined as the movement of water from areas
of high to low concentration through a membrane; in this case it was the membrane of the
potato. Diffusion is defined as the movement of a solute from area of high to low
concentration without membrane, ATP, or carrier.
4. According to my results, none of the solutions were isotonic to the potato slice as there
was a change in length and mass for all 4 slices.
5. The gain and loss in mass depended on the type of solution the potato slice was placed in.
Hypotonic solutions would have made the slice gain mass as the water would have gone
from the high concentration solution into the lower concentration potato. Hypertonic
solutions would have made the slice lose mass as the water would have gone from the
higher concentration potato slice into to the lower concentration solution.
6. A hypertonic solution is a solution with the greatest amount of solute compared to
another solution. A hypotonic solution is a solution with the least amount of solute
compared to another solution. An Isotonic solution with equal concentration of solute to
solvent.
7. 0.1% = 10.90211g
2% = 10.2677g
4.8%=9.33278g
8. The celery become crisp as pure water is a hypotonic solution. Because of Osmosis the
water will move into the celery because it has a lower concentration of water than the
pure water.
9. Road salt can damage plants as it will make the lower the soil water concentration. This
would mean that the soil would pull water out of the plant.
10. The sailor most likely died of dehydration his body was likely hypotonic to the salt water.
This would have caused the water in his body to be taken away.

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