Osmosis Discussion Lab

Discussion: The body is composed of approximately 60% water. As such water is

very important to humans. Water is important to plants as well. The basic unit of life
is cell. Without water a cell will die. The movement of water in and out of a cell is
controlled by the process of osmosis. Osmosis is the movement of water molecules
from a region where it is higher in concentration to a region where it is lower in
concentration through a partially permeable membrane. Whether water moves in or
out of a cell depends on the type of solution the cell is in. There are three types of
solutions that dictates the process of osmosis; they are isotonic, hypertonic and
hypotonic. A hypertonic solution is one in which the solute concentration is higher
than that inside the cell. Therefore the water will leave the cell when placed in this
type of solution. Whereas a hypotonic solution is one in which the solute
concentration is lower than that inside the cell. Therefore the water will enter the cell
when placed in this type of solution. For a isotonic solution, the solute concentration
is the same as that inside the cell, as a result there is no net movement of water in this
type of solution. In the experiment 2 strips of potato each cut to a length of 2cm were
used to observe the process of osmosis. This was done by placing one potato strip in a
test tube with salt water and one with distilled water for 45mins.

The results obtained showed that the potato strip placed in the distilled water
increased in length from 2.0cm to 2.3cm and became turgid. The strip in the salt
solution decreased in length from 2.0cm to 1.6cm. It was expected that the strip in the
distilled water would increase in size and become turgid, whereas the one in salt water
would decrease in size and become flaccid.
The potato strip in the distilled water increased in size because this is a hypotonic
solution. This means that the water was higher in concentration in the beaker than
inside the cell; as a result the water moved from inside the beaker where it was higher
in concentration into the cells of the potato strip where it was lower in concentration.
The strip in the salt solution all decreased in size due to the fact it is a hypertonic
solution. It meant that the concentration of water inside the potato strip was higher
than that in the beaker, as a result the water moved from inside the cells of the potato
strip where it was higher in concentration into the test tube where it was lower in
concentration.

Precaution:
1) It was ensured that the potato strips were blot dried after removing them from the
beaker.
2) It was ensured that the potato strips were completely submerged in the salt
solution and distilled water.

Conclusion: In the hypotonic solution (diluted) the potato strip increased in size,
there was a net movement of water into the cells of the potato strips. In the hypertonic
solution (concentrated) the potato strip decreased in size, there was a net movement of
water from the cells of the potato strip.