Monday October 24th 2011

The Effects of Concentration of Glucose and Temperature on the Rate of Osmosis

By: Aisha Saito 12F Teacher: Ms. Bochen

The purpose of this experiment was to determine the effect of concentration of glucose and temperature change on the rate of osmosis. This was carried out by determining the amount of water flowing through dialysis bags with different concentrations of glucose, and at various temperatures. The rate of osmosis increased as concentration of glucose increased, and varied at different temperatures. The rate of osmosis was not accurately determined for change in temperature. A maximum was not determined for either factor. Introduction Osmosis is a special type of diffusion. Osmosis is the tendency of molecules of a solvent to pass through a semi permeable membrane from a less concentrated solution to a more concentrated solution, until equilibrium is reached. The speed of diffusion depends on the differences between the original concentrations. Certain cell membranes will allow small molecules such as water or oxygen to pass through, but will prevent larger molecules such as sucrose of starch. The rate of reaction can be altered by many factors, such as changing the surface area of the semi permeable membrane, changing the concentration of any involved solutions, changing the pressure of gasses, or changing the temperature at which the experiment is carried out. By altering surface area, the particles would have more area to react with, so the rate of reaction would be faster, having more collisions per second. Also, altering the concentration of liquids and the pressure of gasses, you are affection the rate of reaction. With a higher concentration or a higher pressure, there are more particles of reactants, therefore increasing collisions. The higher the amount of collisions, the faster the rate of diffusion will be. Increasing the temperature would also cause molecules to have more energy and move faster, thus increasing the rate of osmosis. It was expected that the solutions observed in this lab would have a higher rate of osmosis as both the concentration and temperature were increased, and therefore a higher change in mass by the end of the experiment.

Materials and Methods Part 1 Concentration of glucose To perform the experiment of the effects of concentration of glucose on the rate of osmosis, dialysis tubing was cut into 6 equal segments of 15 cm and softened by placing into water. Each tube was then tied at one end to create a seal. Glucose solutions of 0 mol, 0.2 mol, 0.4 mol, 0.6 mol, 0.8 mol, and 1.0 mol were poured into the open end, and the end of the dialysis tube was tied, sealing the solution inside. The initial masses of the tubes were then recorded. Each tube was placed into a 400mL beaker of room temperature water for 20 minutes. After the 20 minutes, the tubes were removed from the water and the final masses were recorded. Part 2 Temperature To perform the experiment of the effects of temperature on the rate of osmosis, dialysis tubing was cut into 6 equal segments of 15 cm and softened by placing them into water. Each tube was then tied at one end to create a seal. 15mL solutions of 1.0M glucose was poured into the open end of the tube and sealed inside. The initials masses of the dialysis tubes were then recorded. The tubes were placed into 400mL beakers of water at 5C, 15C, 22C, 40C, 60C, and 80C. After sitting in the beakers for 20 minutes, the dialysis tubes were removed and the final masses were recorded. Results Figure 1 Concentration of glucose Treatment number 1 2 3 4 5 6 Figure 2 Temperature Treatment number 1 2 3 4 5 6 Concentration of Glucose 0.0 M 0.2 M 0.4 M 0.6 M 0.8 M 1.0 M Rate of Osmosis (% change in mass) 1.9 6.078 7.044 8.529 11.06 12.11

Temperature (C) 5 15 22 40 60 80

Rate of Osmosis (% change in mass) 9.5 14.9 13.26 11.97 11.02 13.21

(see attached graphs of part 1 and part 2 ) Dialysis tubes with higher concentrations of glucose had higher rates of osmosis. Dialysis tubes which were placed in environments with different temperatures had varying rates of osmosis, as shown on the graph, which lead to no reliable conclusion. The rate of osmosis was calculated by calculating the % change in mass. To calculate this, the initial mass was subtracted from the final mass, and divided by the initial mass, then multiplied by 100. Discussion The results stated that when the concentration of glucose increased, the rate of osmosis was also increased. As the temperature of the environment was changed, the rate of osmosis varied. In the first experiment of the effects of concentration of glucose on the rate of osmosis, the results were accurately matched with the original predictions. As seen in figure 1, as the concentration of glucose increased, so did the rate of osmosis. This was caused by the amount of glucose (solute) increasing, causing the particles to be more tightly packed and have more collisions. When the dialysis bag had a solution of 0.0M glucose concentration, there is a very low level of osmosis (1.9 %) This can be explained because osmosis allows cells to interact with other extracellular fluids. Water molecules move in or out of a cell, along their concentration gradient, until their concentrations on both sides of the membrane are equal. Once the concentration is equal, water molecules continue to move in and out but there is no net diffusion of water. As the concentration in the first trial was 0.0M, the rate of osmosis would be the lowest, but would still not be 0, as the solutions were isotonic, water would continue to move in and out of the cell membrane (dialysis tube). The rate of osmosis had the largest change between the first and the second trial of the concentration of glucose, going from 1.9 to 6.078. This suggests that the addition of a solute forces more water to travel at a higher rate when going from a control group to something slightly higher in concentration. This is because at 0.0M, the rate of diffusion was at the least possible it could be. As soon as a solute was added to create 0.2M, osmosis caused the water to travel and allowed the cell to obtain equilibrium. The general trend throughout the concentration of glucose experiment was such that as the amount of glucose was increased, the rate of osmosis was also increased. Since the solution within the cell membrane was hypotonic to its environment, water entered the cell causing the final mass to be greater than the initial. The prediction that the rate of osmosis had a positive correlation with the concentration of glucose was supported because as seen in figure 1, the rate of diffusion raised from 1.9 to a maximum of 12.11 (for these treatments). The independent variable in this experiment was the control group with a concentration of 0.0M , and the dependent variable was the rate of osmosis.

In the second experiment of the effects of temperature on the rate of osmosis, the results were inconclusive. The prediction that the increase of temperature would cause increase in the rate of osmosis were not proven correct. The unsystematic obtained rates of diffusion suggest that the experiment was not carried out properly. In a cell, there should be a higher rate of osmosis as the temperature increases, because by increasing temperature there is an increase in energy within the cell, causing the molecules to move faster. As molecules move faster, they collide at a faster rate initiating the faster movement of water in and out of the cell. In the obtained results, the fastest change in rate of osmosis was between temperatures of 5C and 15C, going from 9.5 to 14.9. Had the results of the experiment concluded that the rate of osmosis decreased as the temperature increased, the findings may have been viable. Since the rate of osmosis was found to increase again at a temperature of 80C, it proves the results inconclusive. The independent variable in this experiment was the temperature, and the dependent variable was the rate of osmosis. Conclusion As found in this experiment, the rate of osmosis increased as the concentration of glucose (a solute) increased. The results of the temperature aspect of the experiment were inconclusive. With an increased amount of solute, the rate of osmosis increased as the solution as a whole had more energy, therefore allowing the water to diffuse across the cell membrane at a higher rate. A maximum was not determined. Sources of Error The sources of error were all mechanical errors and preventable. One of the main sources of error occurred in the effects of temperature aspect of the experiment. As the dialysis tubes were sitting for 20 minutes, they were not kept at a constant temperature, and therefore the rate of diffusion was affected. Had the tubes been kept at a constant temperature and not allowed to cool down, the rate of diffusion would have increased as the temperature ranges increased. Another portion of this source of error may have been that certain tubes were sitting closer to a window (which would cool them down faster due to the cold air). A second source of error may have been that some of the dialysis tubes werent completely sealed which would have allowed water to leak out and leave the results unviable. This would have left the dialysis tubes with a lower mass than expected. A third possible error may have been that the weight of the solution was improperly measured, which would either raise the calculated rate of diffusion or lower it, depending on if the final mass or the initial mass were wrong.