Osmosis in Action!

Osmosis in Action!
Timothy Roos
Honors Biology, Period 5
North Catholic High School
April 30th, 2018
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Introduction

Every cell is protected by a cell membrane which determines which particles enter and leave the

cell. The process of particles moving from a high concentration to a low concentration is called

diffusion (Sciencing, 1). Particles freely travel across the cell membrane in a process called

passive transport. Unlike passive transport, active transport requires energy and ATP to move

particles across the membrane.

An important feature of the cell membrane is that it is selectively permeable, which

means that only specific particles may enter the cell. One example of this attribute is that water

cannot pass the phospholipid bilayer, because it is hydrophilic, but the cell membrane lets

Oxygen pass through. Even though water cannot simply pass straight through the cell membrane,

our cells still need water. To help water pass the hydrophobic tails of the phospholipid bilayer,

channel proteins are embedded into the membrane, which are specific to the particle they are

transporting. The channel protein that is specific to H20 is Aquaporin (Verkmin, 27).

The diffusion of water molecules is known as Osmosis. Water will move from a high

concentration to a low concentration until equilibrium is met. Because aquaporins are always

open to water molecules, there can be a higher concentration of water outside the cell than inside

of it. This type of osmotic environment is known as a hypotonic environment. When there is a

higher concentration of water inside the cell than outside, the water moves outside the cell and

the cell shrinks. This type of osmotic environment is known as a hypertonic environment

(Flaherty, 4). The final type of osmotic environment is an isotonic environment, in which there is

an equal distribution of water molecules and solutes distributed. In each of these environments,

the amount of water molecules and solutes are reciprocals of each other, so if there is a higher
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concentration of water outside the cell than inside, then there must be a higher concentration of

solutes inside the cell than outside.

It is important to recognize osmosis in real life and what the different osmotic

environments outcome will be. For example, people who run in marathons or long distance

general, must remember to drink water, but not an excessive amount. If a runner keeps drinking

water during their run, their cells will be put into a hypotonic environment, in which water

continuously enters the cell and the cells will eventually swell or even burst. The person will

most certainly die, due to the fact that they underwent cytolysis, the breaking down of cells.

In this experiment, dialysis tubing is used to substitute for the simulated cell. The reason

dialysis tubing is used, is that one of its unique properties is that it is selectively permeable, just

like a cell. The purpose of this lab is to see the different effects of osmosis in the different

environment, determine what dialysis tubing is permeable to, and how the rate of osmosis differs

with different concentration gradients.

The set-up for this lab in Part 1 has 6 different concentrations of glucose solutions in

beakers. Beaker 1 is an isotonic solution, while Beaker 2, 3, 4, & 6 are hypotonic solutions, and

Beaker 5 is in a hypertonic environment. For Part 1, the dependent variable is the change in mass

while the independent variable was the different osmotic environments. Part 1 had many

constants, including amount of solution in each beaker, temperature of solutions, type of dialysis

tubing, length of dialysis tubing, size of beakers, time intervals, and folding method of dialysis

tubing. The control group in this part of the experiment is Beaker 1, with water in water. Every

other beaker is an experimental group. My hypothesis for Beaker 1 (water in water) is, if the

solution is isotonic, then the mass of the dialysis tubing will fluctuate but mostly stay the same.

The hypothesis for Beaker 2 (20% in water) is, if the solution is hypotonic, then the mass of the
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dialysis tubing will increase. The hypothesis for Beaker 3 (40% in water) is, if the solution is a

hypotonic solution, then the mass of the dialysis tubing will increase more than Beaker 2. The

hypothesis for Beaker 4 (60% in water) is, if the solution is a hypotonic environment, then the

mass of the dialysis tubing will increase more than Beaker 3. The hypothesis for Beaker 5 (Water

in 60%) is, if the environment is hypertonic, then the water in the tubing will exit causing the

mass of the dialysis tubing to decrease significantly. The hypothesis for Beaker 6 (80% in 60%)

is, if the solution is in a hypotonic environment, then the mass of the dialysis tubing will

increase.

For Part 2, the solution is hypertonic. In Part 2, the dependent variable was the color

change, and the independent variable was the location of starch. Part 2’s variables that remained

constant were the folding method of dialysis tubing, amount of iodine, amount of starch, amount

of water in the beaker, time intervals, and temperature of water. The control for this experiment

is the set up with yellow water and white starch in the dialysis tubing. The experimental group

for this part of the experiment is afterwards, when the clear water and dark purple color is inside

the dialysis tubing.. My hypothesis for Part 2 is, if the dialysis tubing is permeable to iodine, then

the solution inside the dialysis tubing will turn a dark shade of purple.

Materials

 Iodine  Electronic Scale

 Potato Starch  Scissors

 Pipette  Ribbon

 10mL Graduated Cylinder  Beakers

 Dialysis Tubing  Paper Towels

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 Water  Timer

 Paper  Plastic Spoon

 Pencil  Glucose Solution

Procedure

Part 1

1. Gather materials.

2. Soak dialysis tubing in water.

3. Place 200 mL of specific solutions into each of the 6 beakers.

4. Open a dialysis tube. Fold bottom end of dialysis tubing. Tie string tightly around

the now-folded tube. Place specific solution through the top of the dialysis tubing.

5. Tie off the top end of the dialysis tubing with ribbon. Make sure the string is tight

around the tubing.

6. Cut off extra hanging ribbon.

7. Repeat steps 4-6 for each of the beakers.

8. Once all dialysis tubes have been tied securely, drop each tube into the

corresponding beaker at the same time.

9. Immediately after you drop the solutions in the beakers, start the stopwatch.

10. Wait 3 minutes

11. Once the time is up, pull the tubing out of the beakers.

12. Dry the tubing off with a paper towel.

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13. Once the dialysis tubing is completely dried, place the tubing on the scale and

weigh the material.

14. Mark down the mass on a piece of paper.

15. Place the dialysis tubing back in the beaker same beaker it was first placed in.

16. Repeat steps 10-15, for each dialysis tube.

17. Repeat step 16 3x.

18. Dispose of materials properly.

Part 2

1. Gather materials.

2. Soak dialysis tubing in water.

3. Open a dialysis tube. Fold bottom end of dialysis tubing. Tie string tightly around

the now-folded tube. Place starch solution through the top of the dialysis tubing.

4. Tie off the top end of the dialysis tubing with ribbon. Make sure the string is tight

around the tubing.

5. Fill a beaker with 200 mL of water.

6. Place the Dialysis Tubing into the beaker.

7. Add 20 drops of iodine into the beaker filled with water.

8. Record the color of the water inside the beaker and the solution inside the dialysis

tubing on a piece of paper.

9. Allow the solution to sit, until changes occur with the solution.

10. Record the color of the solution inside the beaker, and inside the dialysis tubing.

11. Properly dispose of the materials.

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Results

For Part 1, Beaker 2,3,4, and 6 had an increase in mass of the dialysis tubing. Beaker 1

also has a small increase in mass before decreasing shortly at the end of the time. Unlike the

other solutions, Beaker 5 decreased sharply in the mass of the dialysis tubing. The following

table and figure are accurate representations of the results that Period 5’s Biology Class gathered.

The results are the average of everyone’s results.

Table 1: Change of Mass for “Model Cell”

Water in 20 % in 40% in 60% in Water in 80% in
Time Water Water Water Water 60% 60%
0 0 0 0 0 0 0
3 208 317 408 567 -150 241
6 291 534 800 1,009 -533 316
9 249 701 1,108 1,409 -783 399
After every 3 minutes, the dialysis tubing was placed on a scale, and the mass was recorded.
Then the tubing would be placed back into the beaker, and the process would be repeated. The
mass was measured in grams. This table was the averages of all experiments done in Period 5
Biology. To find the average results, add all the changes of mass together for one set of the data,
and then divide by how many you added together.

2000

Change in Mass Vs. Time

1500

1000 Water in Water

20% in Water
Mass (mg)

500 40% in Water

60% in Water
Water in 60%
0 0 3 6 9
80% in 60%

-500

-1000
Time (minutes)
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Figure 1: Change of Mass for “Model Cell”

This graph is a great representation showing exactly what happened to the mass of each model
cell. This graph is very helpful to compare the different results, since it shows how every setup’s
mass changed.

Part 2 resulted in a color change inside the dialysis tubing. The starch solution became a
dark blue/black color. The solution inside the beaker remained a yellow amber color throughout
the experiment.
Discussion

Beaker 5 (Water in 60%) had a large decrease in mass, since there was more water inside

the dialysis tubing then outside. Thus, the water will move from the high concentration to a low

concentration. On the contrary, Beaker 2 (20% in water), 3 (40% in water), 4 (60% in water), and

6 (80% in 60%) all had an increase in mass. This occurred because there was a higher

concentration of water outside the dialysis tubing then inside, making the water enter the “cell.”

Beaker 1’s (water in water) mass altered very simply since equilibrium was already reached. The

mass will always be changing since aquaporin’s constantly are open to water. As time went on

equilibrium slowly was achieved. As the time continued, the rate at which the mass changed

slowed. The reason Beaker 4 and 3 had a larger increase in mass than Beaker 2 and 6 is because

the concentration gradient was much larger. Beaker 2 (20% in water) had a larger increase in

mass compared to Beaker 6 (80% in 60%). This is because there is a higher percentage of pure

water in the beaker in Beaker 2, then in Beaker 6.

In part 2, the solution in the dialysis tubing turned a dark blue color, proving that dialysis

tubing is permeable to iodine. Iodine is used to test solution for the presence of starch. If the

color changes to a dark blue/black color, then there is starch. This is shown in the experiment,

since the inside of the tubing changed color to a dark blue. The results may be varied due to

possible errors. Some possible errors in this experiment is that the string around the tubing could
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not be tight enough, and water could leak out. Another possible error, is that not every strip of

dialysis tubing was dried the same way due to human error. Another example of human

inaccuracy is that not all the strips of dialysis tubing had the same length of string tied, so some

may have a higher mass than others. One final source of error may be that when the dialysis

tubing was placed in the beakers, water splashed out, reducing the possible maximum amount of

water the bags could absorb. If I could make this lab more accurate any way possible, I would

use pre-sealed dialysis tubing, so that only one end would need to be tied shut, reducing the

chance of human error.

References

Contributor, S. (2017, April 24). How Does Diffusion Work? Retrieved from Sciencing:

https://sciencing.com/diffusion-work-4576750.html

Flaherty, J. (2014, April 3). 3 Types of Osmosis. Retrieved from Prezi:

https://prezi.com/zjldrjpgmrs9/3-types-of-osmosis/

Verkmin, A. (2013, January 21). Aquaporins. Retrieved from Cell:

https://www.cell.com/current-biology/fulltext/S0960-9822(12)01369-3