Name :.

Class:. Date:

Chapter 3
Experiment 3.6 : The concentration of an external solution which is isotonic to the cell sap of plant
Problem statement: What is the concentration of an external solution which is isotonic to the cell sap of plant?
Aim:

Hypothesis:

Variables :
a) Manipulated:
b) Responding:
c) Fixed
Materials:

Apparatus:

Technique used: Measuring the lengths of potato strips with a ruler and recording the data.
Experiment planning: You are required to design an experiment to determine the concentration of an external
solution which is isotonic to the cell sap of plant.
Method/Procedure:
1. Seven petri dishes were labeled as A, B,C, D, E,F and G
2. Petri dish A was filled with distilled water.
3. Each petri dish was filled with different solutions according to the table below.
Petri dish
Sucrose solution

B
0.1

C
0.2

D
0.3

E
0.4

F
0.5

G
0.6

4. A cork borer was used to bore 21 potato cylindrical strips. Each strip was cut to a length of 5 cm.
5. Three strips were placed in each petri dish and left for an hour.
6. After an hour, the potato strips were removed. The potato strips were wiped dry and the length of each strip
was measured. Measurement was recorded.
7. A graph of elongation of the potato strips against the concentrations of sucrose solution was plotted.
Result :
Concentration of sucrose
solution (M)

Initial length (cm)

1

0.0
0.1
0.2
0.3
0.4
0.5
0.6
Graph:

Mean

Final length (cm)

1

Change in
length (cm)
Mean

Discussion:
1. How do you determine the concentration of sucrose solution which is isotonic to the cell sap of the potato
from your graph?

2. From the graph, state the concentration of the sucrose solution which is isotonic to the cell sap of potato
cells. Explain your answer.

3. What is the texture and appearance of the potato strips after being immersed in the various concentrations of
sucrose solution?

4. What do the axes on your graph represent?

5. Based on the experiment, discuss the process of osmosis in the various concentrations of sucrose solutions.

Conclusion :

Notes: If you leave potato cells in a hypotonic solution, water enters the cell by
osmosis. The cells increase in length, volume and mass. If you put potato cells in
hypertonic solution, water flows out of the cells. The cells decrease in length,
volume and mass. However, if the concentration of the external solution equals to
the concentration of solute molecules inside the potato cells, the net movement of
water is zero. Then there is no change in the length, volume and mass of the
potato. So by changing the concentration of external solution and observing a no
change in either the length or the mass of potatoes, we can estimate the
concentration of potato cell sap.