Title: AP Biology Lab #1: Diffusion and Osmosis

Purpose: In this lab, we will be conducting an experiment where we will observe the acts of
passive transport: diffusion and osmosis. The experiment will show how molecules in a solution
are able to move from an area of high concentration to an area of low concentration. With this, it
will also show us how hypertonic and hypotonic solutions exist, as well as how cells try to get
back into an isotonic state. In doing so, this lab will allow us to learn why and how diffusion and
osmosis happens in all living things. We will be testing the movement of solutes from their area
of high concentration to the area of lower concentration that surrounds them.

Hypothesis:
Exercise A) molecules of starch and glucose will enter the water in the beaker.
Exercise B) osmosis will occur and try to make each solution isotonic.
Exercise C) the water potential of the potato will be negative.
Exercise D) there is no hypothesis to give.
Exercise E) I believe the salt will cause the cell to become hypertonic.

Data:
Exercise A)
Table 1.1
Presence of Glucose in Water Through Dialysis Bag
Initial Contents Solution Color Presence of
Glucose
Initial Final Initial Final
Bag 15% Glucose & 1% Murky Clear Tar Blue Yes Yes
Starch Black
Beaker H2O & IKI Amber Light Blue No Yes

Exercise B)
Table 1.2
Percent Change in Mass of Dialysis Bags –Group Data
Contents in Initial Mass (g) Final Mass (g) Mass Difference Percent Change
Dialysis Bag (g) in Mass
0.0 M Distilled 18.4 18.5 0.1 grams -0.47%
Water
0.2 M Sucrose 18.2 19.1 0.9 grams 4.20%
0.4 M Sucrose 16.4 17.2 1.9 grams 8.40%
0.6 M Sucrose 19.4 21.4 2.7 grams 11.25%
0.8 M Sucrose 21.4 23.7 2.3 grams 9.83%
1.0 M Sucrose 21.0 23.8 2.8 grams 11.91%
 Table 1.3 – Table scratched because of lack of accurate data.

Graph 1.1
Percent Change of Mass of Contents of Dialysis Tubing
P
e 14
r 12
c 10
e
n 8
t 6
4
C
h 2
a 0
n
-2 0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1
g
e

( Morality Of Sucrose in Water (M)

%
)
O Exercise C)
f Table 1.4
Contents
M
in Initial Final Mass Percent
Beaker
a Mass (g) Mass (g) Difference (g) Change in
s Mass
s
0.0 M 12.7 14.7 2.0 26.98%
Distilled
Water
0.2 M 11.8 12.7 .9 -4.76%
Sucrose
0.4 M 10 9.5 .5 -12.70%
Sucrose
0.6 M 11.3 9.0 2.3 -15.87%
Sucrose
0.8 M 11.3 8.2 3.1 -32.44%
Sucrose
1.0 M 10.9 11.7 .8 -11.29%
Sucrose

Table 1.5 Scratched because of lack of accurate data.

 Graph 1.2

P 30
e
r 20
c
e
10
n 0
t
-10 0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1
C
h -20
a
n -30
g -40
e

(
% Morality Of Sucrose in Water (M)
)
O
f Analysis:

M
a
Exercise A)
s 1) Glucose is leaving the bag and the IKI is entering the bag. The change in the color of the
s bag proves IKI is entering the bag and after testing the beaker, we found there to be
glucose, which proves that glucose was leaving the bag and entering the beaker of H 2O
and IKI.
2) In the results, the IKI moved from the beaker to the bag. This caused the change in the
color of the bag. The IKI moved into the bag to make the concentrations outside the bag
equal to inside the bag. The glucose solution moved out of the bag. The glucose moved to
make the solute concentration inside and outside the bag equal.
3) If the initial and final percent concentration of glucose and IKI for the bag and the beaker
were given, they would show the differences and prove the movement of these substances
to reach equilibrium.
4) Water molecules, IKI molecules, Glucose molecules, and Membrane Pores. Starch
molecules are too large to enter or exit through the holes of the dialysis tubing.
5) If the experiment started with glucose and IKI inside the bag with H 2O and starch in the
beaker, the glucose and IKI would move out of the bag to make the concentrations equal,
changing the color of the solution within the beaker, the starch, however, could not move
into the bag because its molecules are too big to pass through the semi-permeable
membrane of the dialysis tubing.

Exercise B)
1) The molarity of the sucrose in the bag determines the amount of water that either moves
into or out of the bag, which in turn, changes the mass. For example, when the bag
contained a 0.2M solution, water entered the bag to make the concentrations inside and
outside of the bag more equal. As this happened, the mass rose by 0.9 grams, a 4.2
percent increase.
 2) If each of the bags were placed into a 0.4M solution instead of distilled water, the masses
of the bags would have changed in different ways. The mass of the bags filled with
distilled water and 0.2M sucrose would have gone down because water would have left
the bag. The mass of the 0.4M bag would have stayed the same because the
concentrations are now equal. The masses of the 0.6M, 0.8M, and 1.0M bags would have
increased because water would have moved into the bag to equalize the concentrations.
3) The percent change in mass was calculated to show how much the mass increased due to
the addition of water, which was trying to equal the concentrations in both the bags and
the cups.
4)
Initial Mass Final Mass Mass Percent Change in Mass
Differences
20.0 grams 18.0 grams 2.0 grams 18 – 20 = 2 ; 2 / 20 = 0.10 ; 0.10x100=10% change in mass

5) The sucrose solution in the beaker would have been hypotonic to the distilled water in the
bag.

Exercise C)
10: Molar Concentration of Sucrose:
 Group: 0.17M
 Class: 0.19M

Exercise E)
Procedure:
1) The cells look like normal plant cells.

2) The cells shrunk (shriveled up) with no other changes.

3) The cells increased back to their normal size.

Analysis of Results:
1) Plasmolysis is the lose of water and turgor pressure within a plant cell.
2) The onion cells should plasmolyze because the area surrounding them had a lower
water potential thus water should have moved out of the cells.
3) Grasses that live on the sides of roads that have been salted in the winter tend to die
because the water is drained from their cells as the water moves out of the grass cells
and into the hypertonic NaCl area around it.
Conclusion:
In this lab, we observed passive transport, both diffusion and osmosis, but more osmosis
than anything else. I was wrong for my hypothesis in Exercise A. Starch molecules cannot
diffuse out of the bag and into the water surrounding it because I learned that they were far too
big to exit though the semi-permeable dialysis tubing. In Exercise C, I was right once again: the
water potential for the potato was negative; indicating water movement towards the potatoes
was high. Since there was no hypothesis to state for Exercise D, I was right in my hypothesis
for Exercise E. The onion sample, once with salt added to it, showed how the cells became
hypertonic and shriveled up, but as soon as water hit them, they grew right back up and became
turgid once again.
After looking at our data and the class data, I believe we had made a couple of mistakes.
First, we had a negative percent change in mass when it was a dialysis bag of water submerged
in a cup of water, meaning there should have been no percent change in mass, especially not a
negative change. This means water left the bag and none entered it. I think this could only have
had happened if the cup had a small drop of sucrose or any other substance before we poured
water into it, but nonetheless, a human error. This caused us mass confusion and also bad
results, as we had to take the initial weight of the potatoes from another group. Had we not have
had these errors, I believe we would have received some spot on results.