SOURAV CHAKRABORTY MR.

SMITH �
12/11/2017 AP BIOLOGY

Title
The effect of various sucrose concentration on water potential

Experimental Design
Background Information:
All molecules have kinetic energy and are constantly in motion. This movement causes
the molecules to bump into each other and move in different directions. The result is diffusion.
Diffusion is the random movement of molecules from an area of higher concentration of those
molecules to an area of lower concentration. For example, if one were to use a perfume in a
room, people in the surrounding vicinity would be able to smell it because the perfume diffuses
into the air and makes it way to people’s nose. Moreover, the molecules would go from a higher
concentration to an area of lower concentration. Next, dynamic equilibrium is a state of balance
between continuing processes. For example, the odor of the perfume would be approximately
equal throughout the room and no net movement of the perfume’s smell will occur from one area
to the other.
Osmosis is a special type of diffusion. It is the diffusion of water through a selectively
permeable membrane from a region of higher water potential to a region of lower water
potential. The water potential is the measure of free energy of water in a solution. Water potential
is affected by two physical factors. One factor is the addition of solute (solute potential) which
lowers the water potential. The other factor is pressure potential. An increase in the pressure
raises the water potential. Active transport uses the energy from ATP molecules, to move
substance through the cell membrane. Active transport is the complete opposite of diffusion. It
moves substances from a region of low concentration of that substance into regions of higher
concentration.
When two solutions have the same concentration of solutes, they are said to be Isotonic.
When two solutions differ in the concentration of solutes, one with more and another with less
solute they are said to be hypertonic solutions. Next, when there is less solute and more water,
the solution is said to be hypotonic. Plasmolysis is the shrinking of protoplasm away from the
cell wall of a plant or bacterium due to water loss from osmosis, thereby resulting in gaps
between the cell wall and cell membrane.
 This is the formula for calculating the water potential.

This is the formula for calculating the solute potential.

Variables:
There are multiple variables in this lab. For osmosis, the independent variable was the
different concentration of solutions in the dialysis bag. The dependent variable was the amount
of water that diffused into each bag, indicated by the changes of each bags mass after standing in
distilled water for 30mins. The control group was the dialysis bag that contained the distilled
water.
For the potato core lab, the independent variable was the different molarities of the
solutions the cups. The dependent variable was the movement of water molecules between the
potato cores and each solution, shown by the amount of mass the potato cores gained or lost. The
control group was the same type of plant cell throughout the experiment.

Purpose
The overall purpose of this experiment was to examine osmosis, and water potential. The
purpose of the osmosis part of the lab was to analyze and compare the movement of the water
molecules through a semi permeable membrane to solutions of different sucrose concentrations.
The purpose of the potato core part of the lab was to determine the water potential of a cell.

Experimental Hypothesis
1b- If the dialysis bag contains a solution with high sucrose concentration, then it will
have a higher increase in the mass.
1C- if the potatoes are placed in a beaker with a high sucrose concentration than the
sucrose concentration in the potato cells, then the potato cylinder will lose mass.
Materials
- 1B
For this experiment students would need to have certain materials. Students would
need six 30-cm stripes of presoaked dialysis tubing in order to put the sucrose in. Next,
they would need various sucrose concentrations and distilled water. They would then
need a 250-mL beaker or cup, for each dialysis bag. Student will also need a sharpie in
order to label the cup. Lastly, they would need a digital scale in order to weigh the
dialysis tube, before and after submerging it in the water.
- 1C
For this lab students would need a cork borer in order to make the potato cores, which
will be in the cylinder shape. They would need 4 beakers in order to place the potato
cores inside. Then, they would need sucrose solution. They would also need a digital
scale, in order to weigh the mass of the potato cores before and after placing it in the
sucrose solution. Lastly, they would need plastic wrap in order to prevent evaporation.

Procedure
-1B
First of all, Students would need to obtain six 30cm strips of presoaked dialysis
tubing. They then, need to tie in one end of each piece of dialysis tubing to form six bags.
Students will then pour approximately 15-25 mL of each of different solution. There
would be 5 different sucrose solutions and one distilled water solution. Students will need
to make sure to remove as much air as possible by drawing the dialysis bag between two
fingers. Rinse each bag with distilled water to remove any sucrose spilled during the
filling. Students will then blot the outside of each bag with a sharpie and record the initial
mass of each bag, expressed in grams. They will then, place each bag in an empty cup
and label the cup to indicate the molarity of the solution in each bag. Then, they’ll fill
each beaker two-thirds full with distilled water. The dialysis bag should be completely
submerged. Next, let them stand for 30 minutes. At the end of 30 minutes remove the
bags from the water. Lastly, Students will need to carefully weigh the dialysis bag again,
in order to determine the mass.
-1C
Students will need to pour 100 mL of sucrose solution into a labeled 250mL beaker.
Students will then slice a potato into discs shape that are approximately 3cm thick.
They’ll then use a cork borer to cut four potato cylinders. They should not include any
skin on the cylinders. They’ll need to have 4 potato cylinders for each beaker. They’ll
need to place in their potato cylinders in a covered beaker. They’ll place each potato
cylinders on a digital scale and weigh them and then record it. They’ll then place each
potato cylinders into the sucrose solution. Students will have to cover the beaker with a
plastic wrap to prevent evaporation. The potato cylinders have to stand overnight. After
letting the solution with the potato cylinders stand overnight, remove the cores from the
 beakers, blot them gently with a paper towel and weigh them on the digital scale in order
to determine their total mass.

Results
Dialysis Bag Results
Percent Change in Mass of Dialysis Bags (%)

Group 1 Group 2 Group 3 Group 4 Group 5 Group 6 Total Class

Average
0.0M 0.0 0.3 2.2 1.4 3.4 0.0 7.3 1.2
Distilled
Water
0.2 M 0.9 3.7 7.5 1.9 2.3 4.6 20.9 3.5
Sucrose
0.4 M 3.6 8.0 6.3 10.2 6.6 10.5 45.2 7.5
Sucrose
0.6 M 4.1 8.4 16.2 9.8 14.2 9.9 62.6 10.4
Sucrose
0.8 M 9.0 12.5 19.5 11.5 17.2 12.5 82.2 13.7
Sucrose
1.0 M 15.5 18.7 17.6 13.6 27.5 11.6 104.5 17.4
Sucrose
 - As seen in the graph above, the average percent change in mass has increased in
both distilled water and various sucrose concentrations. Thus, indicating that osmosis
has occurred in the dialysis bag.

Potato Core Results

Percent Change in Mass of Potato Cores (%)

Contents Group 1 Group 2 Group 3 Group 4 Group 5 Group 6 Total Class

in Average
Beaker
0.0 M 6.1 2.3 3.8 9.2 1.1 3.1 25.6 4.3
Distilled
Water
0.2 M -2.3 0.0 -4.8 -2.2 -5.5 -6.5 -21.3 -3.6
Sucrose
0.4 M -10.1 -13.3 -12.6 -14.0 -20.7 -24.0 -94.7 -15.8
Sucrose
0.6 M -23.4 -23.2 -25.0 -20.7 -30.3 -27.1 -149.7 -25.0
Sucrose
0.8 M -22.1 -25.6 -29.0 -27.6 -37.6 -27.9 -169.8 -28.3
Sucrose
1.0 M -22.3 -31.4 -32.9 -32.6 -36.7 -33.0 -188.9 -31.5
Sucrose

As shown on the graph, the percent change in the mass of the potato cores has shown
significant increase in the mass when placed in the distilled water. Whereas, when the
potato cores that were placed in various sucrose concentration has shown a significant
decrease in the mass of the potato cores.

Conclusion
Students objective was to determine whether or not diffusion occurred in the dialysis
bag. The way they would have determined this was by the percent change in mass of the
dialysis bags. The hypothesis which was that, if sucrose concentration in the dialysis bag
is higher, then there’ll be an increase in the mass, was proven correct because the graph
showed an increase in the percent change in mass of various dialysis bags. It also showed
that the higher the sucrose concentration was the higher the increase in the mass.
After performing the experiment, and based on the data, students determined that the
average percent change in mass increased in both distilled water and in various sucrose
concentration. Students concluded that more water moved into the bags with higher
sucrose concentration because the contents of the dialysis bags were hypotonic to the
contents in the beaker. The water diffused into the dialysis bag to reach equilibrium. As a
result, the bags with higher solute concentration were heavier. This is a perfect epitome of
water potential. This is because the water always moves from a higher water potential to
an area of lower water potential. The water which was outside the dialysis bag, in a high-
water potential area moved into the dialysis bag, which had lower water potential. Some
errors that could have occurred were students pouring in too much or too little of the
sucrose solution in the dialysis bag. If too much sucrose was added than there would be
more water entering the dialysis bag then it should’ve. If too little was added than less
water would have entered in the dialysis bag, thus manipulating the data. Next, the stand
still time could have been messed up by the students. They could have taken the dialysis
bag out of the beaker before 30mins thus this would have affected the data as well. From
this experiment the process of osmosis was clearer as it gave students a visual
demonstration of the effects of osmosis on the mass of the dialysis bags.
Students objective was to find the effect of various concentration of sucrose on the
potato cores. The hypothesis was that if the concentration of sucrose was increased, then
the potato cores would lose mass. This was supported by the graphs because it showed a
decrease in the potato core’s mass. This happened because of the solute and water
potential. As the concentration of solute increased, more water moved from the potato
cell into the surrounding solution of water. Thus, as a result the potato got smaller and
lost its initial mass. Some errors that could have occurred were students making mistakes
while calculating the mass of the potato cores before and after placing it in the sucrose
solution. Next, they could have not covered the beaker with a plastic wrap. This could
have let evaporation to take place and more water would have evaporated easily until
equilibrium was reached. Thus, this would have let an error in the experiment. From this
experiment it was learned that too much of sucrose concentration will reduce the mass of
the potato cores.

Part 3C

Question and hypothesis

Does temperature affect osmosis? Students came up with a hypothesis which was
that, if a dialysis bag filled with sucrose solution is placed in a cup of 50-degree Celsius
water, then the percent mass of the dialysis bag will increase faster.

Background
Osmosis is the movement of water across a semi permeable membrane. The water
moves from a higher concentrated area (hypotonic) to a low concentrated area
(hypertonic). No additional energy is required for this process to occur. The increase in
kinetic energy means that the molecules around would move around more. When the
temperature of water is increased then the movement of the molecules in the water will
also increase.

Experimental design
The Control variable for this experiment was distilled water. The experimental
variables will be hot, cold, and room temperature water. Things that remained constant
were, same type of dialysis bag, same amount of water, same amount of sucrose solution
in each of the dialysis bag and same amount of time.

Results Prediction
Possible results could have been that the dialysis bag when submerged in the hot
water may have a higher osmosis rate than the others. Thus, the mass would have
increased in an exceptional rate.

Materials
Students would need four 30-cm dialysis bags. They would need 6mL of 1.0M
sucrose solution. They would need 4 cups. Then, they would need a refrigerator for cold
water. They would need hot water. Next, they would need distilled water for the room
temperature. They would also need a digital scale to weigh the dialysis tube, and a timer
to record the amount of time passed. Lastly, students would need a thermometer to
measure the temperature.

Procedure
Students would need fill the dialysis bag with 2mL of distilled water. They would
then need to seal it. Next, they would need to measure the weight of the bag and then
place it in the cup, filled with water. For hot water, students will first fill the cup with 50-
degree Celsius water. They could know the temperature of water by using a thermometer.
For room temperature, students would need to fill a cup with distilled water and leave it
in the room for 30 mins. For the cold water, fill a cup with distilled cold water. Students
can do so, by leaving the water in the refrigerator for a day. Next, they will fill each
dialysis bag with 2mL of 1.0M of sucrose solution. They will then, record the mass of the
dialysis bags by placing it on the digital scale. After they are done recording the mass,
they would need to place the dialysis bags in the hot, cold and room water. They would
need to take each of the bag out of the water every five minutes and record the mass of
the bags for fifteen minutes.

Potential safety issues

Students must follow all the lab safety protocols. Students must wear googles when
dealing with hot water.