Lab: Gummy Bear Osmosis

Name__________________________ Pd__

Background:
Molecules are always moving. Remember that DIFFUSION is the movement of molecules from an area that is
highly crowded to an area that is less crowded.
OSMOSIS is similar to DIFFUSION. OSMOSIS is the diffusion of water molecules through a selectively
permeable membrane.
Remember that selectively permeable means some molecules can move through the membrane while others
cannot.
Cells use osmosis to move particles that it needs into and out of the cell.
Answer these questions BEFORE the lab:
1) What is diffusion?
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2) What is osmosis?
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3) What does selectively permeable mean?
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4) Prediction: How will soaking Gummy Bear candies in water affect the size of the candy?
(explain your prediction based on the background information)
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5) Prediction: How will soaking Gummy Bear candies in highly saturated water affect the size of the
candy?
(explain your prediction based on the background information)
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PROCEDURE DAY 1:
1) Get a beaker, gummy bear, ruler, and masking tape.
2) Label your beaker with your name and partners name and fill it with 100ml of water.
3) Measure your gummy bears height and width in centimeters and record it in the data table below.
4) Find your gummy bears mass in grams and record it in the table below.
5) Draw all the details of your gummy bear in the data table below. Be sure to draw it the size it really is!
6) Get another beaker and gummy bear
7) Label the second beaker with your name and partners name and fill it with 100ml of highly saturated
solution
8) Measure your gummy bears height and width in centimeters and record it in the data table below.
9) Find your gummy bears mass in grams and record it in the table below.
10) Draw all the details of your gummy bear in the data table below. Be sure to draw it the size it really is!

BEFORE SOAKING IN WATER

HEIGHT
WIDTH
MASS
DRAWING/DESCRIPTION

AFTER SOAKING IN WATER

HEIGHT
WIDTH
MASS
DRAWING/DESCRIPTION

BEFORE SOAKING IN HIGHLY SATURATED

SOLUTION
HEIGHT
WIDTH
MASS
DRAWING/DESCRIPTION

AFTER SOAKING IN HIGHLY SATURATED

SOLUTION
HEIGHT
WIDTH
MASS
DRAWING/DESCRIPTION

PROCEDURE DAY 2:
1) Find your gummy bear and take the correct measurements to fill out the rest of your data table.
2) Calculate the percent change in the size of the candy using the formulas below:
% CHANGE IN HEIGHT=
(AFTER SOAKING HEIGHT- BEFORE SOAKING HEIGHT/ BEFORE SOAKING HEIGHT) x 100
(________________ - _________________/ _______________ x 100 = _______ %

% CHANGE IN WIDTH=
(AFTER SOAKING WIDTH- BEFORE SOAKING WIDTH/ BEFORE SOAKING WIDTH) x 100
(________________ - _________________/ _______________ x 100 = _______ %

% CHANGE IN MASS=

(AFTER SOAKING MASS- BEFORE SOAKING MASS/ BEFORE SOAKING MASS) x 100
(________________ - _________________/ _______________ x 100 = _______ %
POST LAB QUESTIONS:
1) Describe what happened to your gummy bear after soaking it in water over night:
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2) What changed the most, the height, width or mass of your gummy bear? __________________________
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3) Describe what happened to your gummy bear after soaking it in highly saturated solution over night:
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4) What changed the most, the height, width or mass of your gummy bear? __________________________
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With the knowledge you have answer the following scenario:
You present yourself to the hospital. The doctor states you are severely dehydrated and needs to give you
an IV. What kind of solution will the IV have? Explain.

A radio contest took place called a Wee for a Wii. The contestants had to drink water and the one who held
from using the restroom the longest would will a Wii. The contest winner went home after the contest, and
did not feel very well. She later died. Explain why the contestant died based on your knowledge.

The following are solutions with gummy bears. Based on the percentage of solution, show which way the
water is flowing with arrows indicating flow of water. Then indicate if the gummy bear is hypertonic,
hypotonic, or isotonic. Then indicate whether the solution is hypertonic, hypotonic, or isotonic.

47%

53%

63%

37%

50%
27%
50%

73%