Expt No 11 Transport Across Membranes

Objectives:
To describe the changes on the cells exposed to hypotonic, hypertonic, and
isotonic solutions.
To identify the type of movement manifested by the food coloring.
To compare and contrast diffusion and osmosis.
Data:
Table 1. Color of water in the beaker over time
Time Elapsed
Color of water
15 mins
Light yellow
30 mins
Dark yellow
Table 2. Observations on the potato strip that was immersed in different
solutions
Solution
Observations
Distilled water
The potato strip became turgid.
25% salt solution
The potato strip became soft but the
change is very minute.
50% salt solution
The potato strip became soft and bent.
It also decreased in size.
Interpretation, Analysis and Discussion:
In the experiment, water cellophane was used to represent the cell membrane.
As shown in Table 1, as time progresses, the color of the water becomes darker.
This is because the food coloring molecules move out of the water cellophane.
The solute concentration inside the cell is greater as compared to the
concentration outside the cell. To achieve equilibrium, the cell undergoes
diffusion. According to Steck (2013) this mode of transport occurs from high
solute concentration to low solute concentration. Diffusion is a passive transport
where ATP and transport proteins are not needed to transport materials across
the membrane. Small non-polar molecules pass through the membrane by
diffusion. Thus, the food coloring used in the experiment can be used to
represent these molecules. According to Campbell, Reese and Mitchell (1999),
each molecule wanders randomly but there will be a net movement of the
molecules across the membrane to the side that began as pure water. The
spreading of the coloring across the membrane will continue until both solutions
have equal concentrations of the coloring. Once that point is reached, there will

be a dynamic equilibrium, with as many food coloring molecules crossing the

membrane in one direction as in the other each second.
As shown in Table 2, the potato strip became turgid when it was immersed in
distilled water. On the other hand, both strips immersed in 25% and 50% salt
solution became soft. However, the changes observed in the former were very
minute as compared to the latter since the one immersed in 50% salt solution
decreased in size and became bent. In the first set-up, the potato strip was
exposed to a hypotonic solution since the potato became turgid. Cells become
turgid if water from the environment gets into the cells (Farabee, 2007). This
occurs when the solution outside the cell has a lower solute concentration
(Steck, 2013). This type solution is said to be hypotonic. Since the molecules
inside the cell are too large to pass through the selectively permeable
membrane, water will cross the membrane, instead. In effect, the solution with
lower solute concentration (hypotonic) has a higher water concentration.
Therefore the water will diffuse across the membrane from the hypotonic
solution (outside the cell) to the hypertonic solution (inside the cell) to achieve
equilibrium. This diffusion of water is a special case of passive transport called
osmosis (Campbell, Reese and Mitchel, 1999). In the second set-up, the potato
strip was assumed to be exposed to an isotonic solution. However, because the
concentration of solute inside the potato cells was only assumed, the results
were not exactly accurate. Solutions of equal solute concentration is said to be
isotonic (Steck, 2013). If two solutions are isotonic, water moves across a
membrane separating the solutions at an equal rate in both directions; that is,
there is no net osmosis between isotonic solutions. In the third set-up, the
potato cell was exposed to a hypertonic solution. The potato turned soft and
bent and decreased in size because water from inside the cells moved out. The
solution of solute outside the cell is higher than the inside so, in order to achieve
equilibrium, the water molecules inside the cell will cross the membrane and
leave the cell. This accounts for the change in the size of the potato strip since
cells shrink when exposed to a hypertonic solution.
According to Fulton (), cell transport involves the many ways that wastes and
other materials get in and out of the cell. Passive transport is the movement of a
substance across a cell membrane without the input of the cell's energy. Simple
Diffusion involves the movement of molecules across the cytolemma from a
region of higher concentration to a region of lower concentration. Small
molecules diffuse the easiest across the membrane. No outside chemical
energy is needed for simple diffusion. Osmosis is the simple diffusion of water
molecules across a semipermeable membrane. It occurs when the
concentration of solutes in the two sides of a semipermeable membrane are
different. Movement of molecules is from a solution with a higher water

concentration to a solution with lower water concentration. Facilitated diffusion

is diffusion with the help of cell membrane proteins that provide a way for atoms
or molecules to more easily diffuse across the membrane. Active transport can
enable a cell to move items across the membrane against a concentration
gradient. Chemical energy in the form of ATP is used to begin this process. A
membrane carrier is used and the direction can be from high to low
concentration or from low to high concentration. In exocytosis wastes and cell
products are packaged by Golgi apparatus in sacs called Golgi vesicles. Gogi
vesicles fuse with the cell membrane and the materials in the vesicles are
secreted out of the cell. In endocytosis, the cell membrane surrounds desirable
macromolecules outside the cell. The cell pinches off a saclike portion of its
outer membrane to form a tiny new vesicle. The vesicle moves into the cell
where it releases its contents into the cytoplasm. Endocytosis can be
pinocytosis, where the cell membrane encloses a droplet of fluid and its solutes
and brings the droplet into the cell, or phagocytosis, where the cell engulfs a
food particle. The vesicle containing food then fuses with a lysosome carrying
digestive enzymes.
Conclusion: Based on the observations made, it is concluded that, cells exposed
to a hypotonic solution bloats or becomes turgid. When exposed to a hypertonic
solution, they shrink and when exposed to isotonic solution, they turn flaccid or
there is no change. It is also concluded that, the food coloring has undergone
diffusion. Diffusion is the movement of solute molecules across a
semipermeable membrane from a high solute concentration to a low solute
concentration. Osmosis is the movement of solvent molecules across a
semipermeable membrane from a high solvent concentration to a low solvent
concentration.
Application: According to Ford (2013), when the salt water enters the throat, the
solution helps to neutralize acids in the throat, restoring the natural pH balance
that had been disrupted by the sore throat. By doing this, the burning sensations
are relieved and the mucous membranes become less irritated, which can speed
healing. In addition to neutralizing acid, the salt water gargle helps to wash
away unwanted mucus and increase the blood flow to the throat. The capillaries
then become dilated, which allows for faster circulation of infection-fighting
cells.

References:

Campbell, N.A. Reese, J.B. and Mitchell, L.G. (1999). Biology 5 th ed. USA:
Benjamin/Cummings. 137-138
Farabee, M.J. (2007). Water and Solute Movement. Retrieved 1.29.2013 from
http://www.emc.maricopa.edu/faculty/farabee/biobk/biobooktransp.html
Ford, A. (2013). Ease a Sore Throat By Gargling Water: Say What. Retrieved
1.29.2012 form http://www.divinecaroline.com/36/108976-ease-sore-throatgargling-salt
Fulton, T.B (). Diffusion and Transport Across Membranes. Retrieved 1.29.2013
from http://biochemistry.ucsf.edu/programs/ptf/prologue%20links/Diff%20&
%20Trans%20Membranes.pdf
Steck, T.L. (2013). Membrane Transport. Retrieved 1.29.2013 from
http://www.biologyreference.com/Ma-Mo/Membrane-Transport.html