Running Head: How Do Molecules Move Through a Semi-Permeable Membrane

How Do Molecules Move Through a Semi-Permeable Membrane? Christy Coghlan Chapin High School 2A Mrs. Latham October 12 and 16

Running Head: How Do Molecules Move Through a Semi-Permeable Membrane Introduction

Diffusion is the movement of small and non-polar molecules from a high concentration to a low concentration. Osmosis is the movement of water from a high concentration (potential) to a low concentration (potential). The membrane is semipermeable because it only allows certain materials to pass through it. Lugol's iodine solution is orange, until it is mixed with starch, when it turns black-blue. Therefore, when the Lugol iodine solution (mixed with water) diffuses inside of the bag through osmosis, the inside of the bag will turn black-blue due to the presence of starch.

Results Before Color of Starch inside Bag Foggy white Color of Lugols Solution Amber outside Bag Mass of Bag 41.69 grams After Translucent purple Clear 42.168

Discussion The color inside of the bag changed because the Lugol's iodine solution diffused into the bag, and, due to the starch, it turned black/blue (purple). Additionally, there was a color change outside of the bag because the only color source present was the iodine solution, and when it diffused inside of the bag, there was no color left outside. The mass of the bag increased slightly

Running Head: How Do Molecules Move Through a Semi-Permeable Membrane

because the Lugol solution had mass, and when it diffused inside the bag, that mass diffused as well. The water must have moved into the bag, because water moves from areas of high to low concentration of water. As the inside of the bag had a concentration of starch solution, and the outside was simply water, the inside had a lower concentration of water, and so the water moved inside of the bag through osmosis (Refer to Figure 1.1). The diffusion would never end, because the water level would change due to osmosis until the concentration of water was equal both

inside and outside of the bag, and then the water would still move back and forth between the inside and the outside of the bag, with no net change (See Figure 1.2). The starch (Refer to Figure 1.3) was not able to pass through the bag, because the starch molecules were too large to be diffused through the "cell membrane" (the plastic bag). This bag lab is similar to the cell membrane, and it shows how it functions. Like the plastic bag, cell membranes are selectively permeable, and so they only let certain things pass through them. For example, the water/iodine solution was able to pass through because of

Running Head: How Do Molecules Move Through a Semi-Permeable Membrane

osmosis, while the starch solution was not able to, as the molecules were too large to diffuse. The cell membrane works in the exact same way.