Diffusion Through Cell Membranes 1

Ava Perock
Honors Biology Period 5
Cardinal Wuerl North Catholic
April 24, 2018
 Diffusion Through Cell Membranes 2

Introduction

Passive transport is a type of cellular transport where substances are moving along with

the concentration gradient. Passive transport does not require any extra energy like active

transport does. Since passive transport moves across the cell membrane, the cell membrane has

to be selectively permeable to what it lets in and out of the cell (Team, 2017). Being selectively

permeable means that it is only permeable to certain molecules and not all molecules. The cells

structure and composition are what makes it selectively permeable (Diffusion Through Cell

Membranes ). There are three types of passive transport, Simple Diffusion, Facilitated Diffusion,

and Osmosis. Osmosis is the movement of water across a cell membrane from high

concentrations to low concentrations (Cram, 2007). There are also multiple environments for

osmosis including, a hypotonic environment which is when there is a higher concentration of

water outside the cell so there is more water moving in the cell instead of out, an isotonic

environment which means there is an equal concentration of water inside and outside the cell,

and finally there is a hypertonic environment which is when there is a higher concentration of

water inside the cell, so more water is moving outside the cell than inside (Hitchen, 2012).

Osmosis is useful in more than just lab purposes. For example, dehydrated fruits. When a fruit is

dehydrated, it has a higher concentration of sugar than water. So, when they are sprayed with

water in a grocery store, that fruit is then being placed into a hypotonic environment because the

higher concentration of water is outside the fruit and is trying to make its way into the fruit to

rehydrate it (Gemma, 2014). The dialysis tubing used in the lab is a selectively permeable

membrane tubing used in separation techniques like osmosis. What dialysis tubing does is that it

separates dissolved substances of different sizes allowing them to pass through if possible

(Team, 2017). There are many different purposes for this lab, some of them including to see the
 Diffusion Through Cell Membranes 3

different effects of osmosis in the different osmotic environments. Meaning that the students

wanted to see if the “model cells” were being placed into hypotonic, hypertonic, or isotonic

environments. Another purpose was to see how the rate of osmosis differs with different

concentration gradients. This means that the students were testing to see if the concentration

gradient increased does the rate of osmosis increase as well (Diffusion Through Cell Membranes

). Then the purpose for part two of the lab was to see what the starch was permeable too.

Meaning they wanted to see if the starch was permeable to the iodine. For the set-up of this

experiment there were six beakers, five were filled with water and the sixth was filled with a

60% glucose solution. The students wanted to see the different osmotic environments of the

beakers and the tubing. For example, beaker 1 represents and isotonic environment meaning that

the water in the tubing and the water in the beaker are at equilibrium because they are both water

there is not a higher concentration somewhere (Diffusion Through Cell Membranes ). They are

both the same concentration. Beakers 2, 3, and 4 represent a hypotonic environment which

means that there is a higher concentration outside of the cell, so the water moves inside the cell

trying to reach equilibrium. Beaker 5 has two dialysis tubes in it, one dialysis tube is in a

hypotonic environment and the other is in a hypertonic environment. That means that there is a

higher concentration of water inside the cell than outside so the water is going to move outside

the cell (Diffusion Through Cell Membranes ). The dependent variable for part one is the mass

change of the solution in the tubes and the independent variable is the osmotic solution. For part

two the dependent variable is the color change and the independent variable is the location of the

starch. Some constants for part one is the temperature of the water, the starting amount, the time

the students left each bag in the water, and how we folded and tied the dialysis tubing. The

control group for part one of the lab is beaker one with water in water. The experimental group is
 Diffusion Through Cell Membranes 4

beakers 2-5. Some constants for part two are the amount of iodine drops in the water, the amount

of water in each beaker, the amount of starch in the tubes, and the temperature if the water. The

control group for part two is the initial set up when the simulated cell was white, and the water

was tinted yellow. And the experimental group is the set up after 24 hours when the simulated

cell turned dark blue and the water was mostly clear. If you place a dialysis tube filled with 5 mL

of pure water into 200 mL of pure water, then the dialysis tube will stay around the same mass. If

you place a dialysis tube filled with 5 mL of 20% glucose solution into pure water, then the tube

will gain weight. If you place a dialysis tube filled with 5 mL of 40% glucose solution into pure

water, then the tube will gain weight. If you place a dialysis tube filled with 5 mL of 60%

glucose solution into pure water, then the tube will gain weight. If you place a dialysis tube filled

with 5 mL of pure water into 60% glucose solution, then the tube will lose weight. If you place a

dialysis tube filled with 5 mL of 80% glucose solution into 60%, then the tube will gain weight.

And for part two, if you place the dialysis tubing with starch into a beaker with water and iodine

then the iodine will pass through the tubing because the starch is permeable to the iodine.

Materials

 6 Beakers

 20% glucose solution

 40% glucose solution

 60% glucose solution

 80% glucose solution

 Pure water solution

 Dialysis tubing

 Corn starch
 Diffusion Through Cell Membranes 5

 Scale

 String

 Paper towels

 Timer

 Pipettes

 Iodine

 Graduated cylinders

Procedures
Part One: Effect of Concentration on Rate of Diffusion

1. Find 6 pieces of dialysis tubing. Make sure the tubing has been presoaked in water.

2. Fold the tubing down about one cm then fold it across and down. After tie it with a string

in a double knot very tightly.

3. Fill tube one with 5 mL of water

4. Fill tube two with 5 mL of 20% glucose solution

5. Fill tube three with 5 mL of 40% glucose solution

6. Fill tube four with 5 mL of 60% glucose solution

7. Fill tube five with 5 mL of 80% glucose solution

8. Fill tube six with 5 mL of water

9. After all the bags have been filled repeat step 2 with the bottom end of the dialysis tube

10. Dry off the bags gently with a paper towel

11. Get the mass of each bag separately on a scale and record the data

12. Get 5 beakers, fill four of the beakers with water and fill the fifth beaker with 60%

glucose solution each with about 200 mL

 Diffusion Through Cell Membranes 6

13. Place the bags in all the beakers at the same time with 80% and one of the water tubes in

the fifth beaker together for 3 minutes

14. After 3 minutes remove the bags from the beakers and dry them with a paper towel then

weigh all the bags separately and record the data

15. Place all the bags in at the same time for another 3 minutes

16. Repeat step 14 after the next three minutes has past

17. Repeat steps 15 and 16 again

Part Two: A Selectively Permeable Membrane

1. Fold the end of the dialysis tubing the same way you did for part one and tie it off with a

string

2. Fill the tube with about two spoonsful of starch

3. Add about 1 teaspoon of starch solution to the tube

4. Fold the other end of the tube and seal it with string

5. Rinse off the bag to get any excess starch off the outside and dry it with a paper towel

6. Next, fill a beaker half way with water and add 8 drops of iodine

7. Place the dialysis tube into the iodine water

8. Then fill out the initial color chart for the water and the beaker

9. Remove the tubing from the water after 24 hours and pat it dry with a paper towel

10. Finally fill out the chart with any color change

(Diffusion Through Cell Membranes )

Results

In part one of the lab the starting masses were all 0. The data is coming from table one

below. In set up one for the lab which is Water in Water, the results showed an increase in mass
 Diffusion Through Cell Membranes 7

from 0-3 minutes. The class average was 208 milligrams. Then from 3-6 minutes there was

another increase in mass the average gained 83 milligrams. The class average from 3-6 minutes

was 291 milligrams. And finally, for set up one, from 6-9 minutes there was a decrease in the

mass the average lost 42 milligrams. The class average was now 249 milligrams. In set up two

20% in Water, the lab showed an increase in mass from 0-3 minutes. The class average was 317

milligrams. From 3-6 minutes, the average gained 217 milligrams and the average was 534

milligrams. From 6-9 minutes there was another increase in the data the average gained 167

milligrams making the average 701 milligrams. For set up 3 in the lab 40% in Water, from 0-3

minutes the results showed an increase in mass of 408 milligrams. From 3-6 minutes the average

showed a gain in mass of 392 milligrams, making the average 800 milligrams. The results from

6-9 minutes showed another increase in data of 308 milligrams making the final data point 1108

milligrams. In the next lab set up we see 60% in Water. From 0-3 minutes we see an increase in

mass of 567 milligrams. The results from 3-6 minutes show an increase in the data of 442

milligrams. The class average was 1009 milligrams from 3-6 minutes. From 6-9 minutes there

was another increase in mass of 400 milligrams making the class average now 1409. For the

Water in 60% there was a decrease in data from 0-3 minutes. The data lost 150 milligrams

making the average -150 milligrams. The results from 3-6 minutes shows a decrease of 383

milligrams. The class averaged the data to be -533 milligrams for 3-6 minutes. From 6-9 minutes

there was another decrease in the data of 250 milligrams making the average -783 for 6-9

minutes. For the final data set of 80% in 60% the data between 0-3 minutes shows an increase of

241 milligrams. Then from 3-6 minutes there was another increase in data of 75 milligrams. The

class average for 3-6 minutes is 316 milligrams. From 6-9 milligrams there was another increase

in mass of 83 milligrams making the final average for the class 399 milligrams. The graph
 Diffusion Through Cell Membranes 8

below shows all the data from the table over a time span. The graph has six series each

representing the dialysis tubes in each solution.

Table 1: Mass Changes over a 9 Minute Period

Time Water in 20% in 40% in 60% in Water in 80% in

Water Water Water Water 60% 60%
0 0 0 0 0 0 0
3 208 317 408 567 -150 241
6 291 534 800 1009 -533 316
9 249 701 1108 1409 -783 399

Description: The numbers seen in the table above are class averages of change in mass of the
dialysis tubing. The numbers were originally in grams, but the students changed them to
milligrams. All of the masses started at zero milligrams then the students got the masses after 3
minutes then they were averaged. Then the mass of the next three minutes was averaged and then
the difference between the two masses was added on to the previous mass. The reason the
students calculated the mass change is because the mass would have been very messy to
calculate averages with. But, the mass change was neater to work with.

Graph 1: Mass V. Time

water in water
Mass vs Time 20% in Water
40% in Water
2000 60% in Water
Water in 60%
80% in 60%
1500 Linear (80% in 60%)

1000
Mass (Miligrams)

500

0
0 3 6 9

-500

Time (Minutes)
-1000

Description: In this graph, the information is all from the table above. This is a visual of the
mass change vs the time. There are six different series on the graph representing each dialysis
 Diffusion Through Cell Membranes 9

tube in its osmotic environment. The series titled water in water represents the dialysis tube filled
with 5 mL of pure water placed into 200 mL of pure water. The series titled 20% in water
represents the dialysis tube filled with 5 mL of 20% glucose solution placed into pure water. The
series titled 40% in water represents the dialysis tube filled with 5 mL of 40% glucose solution
placed into pure water. The series titled 60% in water represents the dialysis tube filled with 5
mL of 60% glucose solution placed into pure water. The series titled water in 60% represents the
dialysis tube filled with pure water placed into 60% glucose solution. The series titled 80% in
60% represents the dialysis tube filled with 5 mL of 80% glucose solution placed into 60%
glucose solution.

Part Two Results:

In part two of the lab the results show that the dialysis tubing allowed the iodine to pass

through and not the water. The dialysis tubing and the starch could both be considered permeable

to the iodine. The results showed that the starch was permeable and went from white to

blue/purple after 24 hours. The water with the iodine stayed the same color and the water did not

go anywhere.

Table 2: Cell Model Permeability Data

Starting Color Color after 24 Hours

Solution in Dialysis Bag White Blue/Purple
Solution in Beaker Yellow Yellow

Description: This table shows the different colors of the solutions in the beaker and in the
dialysis bags right at the start and after 24 hours. The starting color of the starch was white and
the starting color of the water with iodine was yellow. After 24 hours the data showed that the
starch was now purple/blue and the water with the iodine was still yellow but a little clearer.

Discussion:

Set up one gained, gained, and then lost mass. The reason we saw that was because it was

placed into and isotonic environment and since water can move freely around it will move in and

out whenever. Set up two, three, four and six all gained mass each time because they were all

placed into environments where there was a higher concentration outside the cell, so the water

moved inwards. This is also known as a hypotonic environment. Set up five lost data the whole
 Diffusion Through Cell Membranes 10

time because it was placed in a hypertonic environment. The loss of mass is due to the fact that

the higher concentration of water is inside the cell and the cell wants to reach equilibrium with

its environment, so it lets water out of the cell and into its environment. As you are getting closer

to equilibrium, the rate of osmosis decreases. This is due to the fact that as you are getting closer

to equilibrium, there aren’t as many substances that need to be dissolved so the osmosis works

slower. As the concentration gradient increases so does the rate of osmosis. The results showed

that the 80% in 60% did not gain as much as the 20% in water, this is the case because there is

more pure water in the 20% in water than there is in the 80% in 60%. There is still water present

in the 60% but it is mostly glucose. In part two the reason the starch turned blue/purple was

because the starch was permeable to the iodine in the water. The starch was not permeable to the

water that is what allowed it to change to purple/blue. The dialysis tubing was also permeable to

the iodine because it passed through the tubing. As humans there are a lot of mistakes made.

During this lab some of the sources of error that the students ran into were not leaving the bag in

the solutions for a long enough time, pulling all the bags out of the solutions at different times

rather than at the same time, not putting the same amount of solution in all the bags, and lastly

not rinsing the bags off enough in part two and the starch getting into the water. If this lab were

to be repeated, one change that could be made is using a longer time frame to do the lab so the

students can see what happens when the solutions reach equilibrium.
 Diffusion Through Cell Membranes 11

References:

College-Cram Biology. (2007, August 14). Retrieved from http://college-

cram.com/study/biology/cell-membranes/passive-transport/

Diffusion Through Cell Membranes. (n.d.).

Hypertonic, hypotonic and isotonic effects on plants and animal cells. (n.d.). Retrieved from
https://internalandexternalenvironments2012.wikispaces.com/Hypertonic, hypotonic and isotonic
effects on plants and animal cells.

Selective Permeability of Dialysis Tubing Lab: Explained. (n.d.). Retrieved from

https://schoolworkhelper.net/selective-permeability-of-dialysis-tubing-lab-explained/

7 Examples Of Osmosis In Everyday Life. (2014, June 10). Retrieved from

https://blog.udemy.com/examples-of-osmosis/