EggOsmosisDemonstration

Day1
PreDemoQuestions
Aneggsshellhasalreadybeendissolvedusingeverydayhousevinegar.Itwasplacedinacupwith
thevinegarfor24hours.Theeggswillbeweighedinordertodetermineiftherewasachange.
1. Whatcouldthehardoutershelloftheeggbecomparedtoinacell?
Cellwall
2. WherewouldIfindtheplasmamembraneinourcells/eggs?
Squishyouterlayer
3. Basedonwhatyouhavelearned,whatdoesthecellmembraneofoureggneedtobein
ordertoallowwaterorothersubstancestopassthrough?
Selectivelypermeable
4. Doyouthinkweneedtoremovetheshelltobeabletogetwaterinside?Whyorwhynot?
Yesbecauseyouneedtoallowwaterin.

Hypothesis
1.
2.
3.
4.

Whatdoyouthinkwillhappentotheeggwhenplacedintapwater?
Nothingactuallyswell
Whatdoyouthinkwillhappentotheeggwhenplacedindistilledwater?
Nothing
Whatdoyouthinkwillhappentotheeggwhenplacedincornsyrup?
Swellactuallyshrink
Whatdoyouthinkwillhappentotheeggwhenleftinvinegar?
Shrink

Day1Measurements

Massoftheegg(g)
(MassofeggandcupMassofcup)

Egg1(Tapwater)
Egg2(Distilled
water)
Egg3(Cornsyrup)
Egg4(Vinegar)

2.8oz
2.67oz

2.74oz
2.78oz

Oneeggwithitsshelldissolvedwillbeplacedintapwater,anotherindistilledwater,athirdincorn
syrup,andthelastwillbeplacedincleanvinegar.Theseeggswillbeleftintheirsolutionsfor24
hours.

EggOsmosisDemonstration

Day

2
BackgroundInformation
Cellsusetheir
plasmamembrane
asselectivedoors,allowingsubstancestopassthroughthemby
severaldifferentmeans.CellscantransportmoleculespassivelywithoutusinganyenergyorATP.This
processiscalled
diffusion
.Whenwaterisdriveninoroutofthecell,thisiscalled
osmosis.
Thisoccurs
duetoadifferenceintheconcentrationgradientbetweentwosubstances.Thisconcentration
gradientiscausedbyadifferenceinsolutesdissolvedinthewater.Inanefforttomakethe
concentrationgradientsequal,watermaypassthroughapermeablemembranesincethesolute
particlesaretoobigandthemembraneisimpermeabletotheseparticles.Placingacellindifferent
substancescancausethecelltolosewater,gainwater,orhavenochangeatall.
Typesofsolution
Hyper
tonic
Hypo
tonic
Iso
tonic

ConcentrationofH
20

Concentrationoutside<Concentration
inside
ConcentrationOutside>Concentration
inside
Concentrationoutside=Concentration
inside

EffectonCell
Cellreleaseswaterandshrinks

Cellsbloatandpossiblyburst

Nochanceincellshape

EggOsmosisDemonstration

Theeggswillberemovedfromtheirsolutions,rinsedandpatteddry.Theywillthenbemeasuredand
weighedusingthesamemethodas
Day1.

Day2Measurements

Massoftheegg(g)
(MassofeggandcupMassofcup)

Egg1(Tapwater)
Egg2(Distilled
water)
Egg3(Cornsyrup)
Egg4(Vinegar)

3.19oz
2.93oz

1.34oz
3.33oz

TapWater
1.
2.
3.
4.

Didthecell/eggshrink,swellorstaythesame?
Swell
Doyouthinkthereisahigherconcentrationofwaterinthecell/eggorinthetapwater?
High
Basedonyourlastanswer,isthecell/egginahypertonic,hypotonicorisotonic?
hypertonic
Wasthetapwaterahyper,hypo,orisotonicsolution?
hypo

EggOsmosisDemonstration
DistilledWater
1. Didthecell/eggshrink,swellorstaythesame?
Swelledalittle
2. Doyouthinkthereisahigherconcentrationofwaterinthecell/eggorinthedistilledwater?
High
3. Basedonyourlastanswer,isthecell/egginahypertonic,hypotonicorisotonic?
Hypertonic
4. Wasthedistilledwaterahyper,hypo,orisotonicsolution?
Hypo

CornSyrup
1.
2.
3.
4.

Didthecell/eggshrink,swellorstaythesame?
Shrink
Doyouthinkthereisahigherconcentrationofwaterinthecell/eggorinthecornsyrup?
Low
Basedonyourlastanswer,isthecell/egginahypertonic,hypotonicorisotonic?
Hypotonic
Wasthecornsyrupahyper,hypo,orisotonicsolution?
Hyper

Vinegar
1.
2.
3.
4.

Didthecell/eggshrink,swellorstaythesame?
Swell
Doyouthinkthereisahigherconcentrationofwaterinthecell/eggorinthevinegar?
High
Basedonyourlastanswer,isthecell/egginahypertonic,hypotonicorisotonic?
Hypertonic
Wasthevinegarahyper,hypo,orisotonicsolution?
Hypo

Whatweretheindependentvariableintheexperiment?(Thethingswecouldcontrolled)
The
solutionyouputtheeggin.
Whatwerethedependentvariablesintheexperiment?
Factorswiththeegg.

DataAnalysis
1. Vinegarismadeof5%aceticacidand95%water.Whentheeggwasplacedinthevinegar,
whatbegantohappen?Whathappenedtotheshelloftheegg?Doyouthinkthiswasa
physicalorchemicalchange?
Theacidinthevinegarhelpeddissolvetheshell.Itisa
chemicalchange.
2. Aftersittinginthevinegar,whichwaydidthewatermoleculesmove?Whatistheproof?
Drawadiagramandusearrowstoshowthemovementofwater.
Watermovedintotheegg
becausetherewasalowerconcentrationofsolutemoleculesinthevinegarthantherewas
insidetheegg.
3. Whentheeggwasplacedinthecornsyrup,whichwaydidthewatermove?Whatisthe
proof?Drawadiagramandusearrowstoshowthemovementofwater.
Watermovedoutof
thecellbecausethesyrupmoleculeswerehypotonictothesolutemoleculesinsidetheegg
4. Iftheeggthatwasplacedinthecornsyrupwasputineitherdistilledwaterortapwaterfor
24hours,whatdoyouthinkwouldhappentotheegg?Drawadiagramandusearrowsto
showthemovementofwater.
Ithinktheeggwouldgobacktoitsoriginalsize.
5. Whatsubstanceswerehypertonic?
Cornsyrup

EggOsmosisDemonstration
6. Whatsubstanceswerehypotonic?
Tapwater,distilledwater,andvinegar
7. Whyarefreshfruitsandvegetablessprinkledwithwateratagrocerystore?
Itkeepsthem
freshandcrispy.
8. Roadsaresometimessaltedtomeltice.Whatdoesthesaltingdototheplantsalongthe
roadside?Explain.
Thissaltingdehydratestheplantsbecausethehighersaltconcentration
causesthewatertodiffuseoutoftheplanttoevenuptheconcentration.
9. Ifalawnisfertilizedanditdoesnotrain,thegrassoftendies.Why?
Ithastobeanequal
fertilizerandwaterratio,thisiscalledosmosis
10. Whydodriedfruitsanddriedbeansoftenswellwhentheyarecooked?
Becausetheyabsorb
thewater