Osmosis in plant tissue (required practical): Cell biology

• Osmosis


  The diffusion of water from a dilute solution to a concentrated solution through a partially permeable membrane

  
• Dilute solution


  A solution that contains a relatively small amount of dissolved solute

  
• Concentrated solution


  A solution that contains a relatively large amount of dissolved solute

  
• Solute


  A dissolved substance in a solution such as glucose or salt

  
• Partially permeable membrane


  A membrane which allows some substances through but not others

  
• Turgidity


  When a plant cell is swollen due to the movement of water into the cell

  
• Flaccid


  When water moves out of the plant cell causing the cell to change shape and the vacuole to shrink

  
• Plasmolysed


  When water has completely moved out of plant tissue by osmosis and the vacuoles are empty

  
• Molarity


  The amount of substance in a certain volume of solution

  
• Percentage change

  The amount of change divided by the original value multiplied by 100

  
• Cork borer


  A device used to make plant tissue cylinders of the same diameter

  
• Mass


  The measure of the amount of matter in an object measured in grams or kilograms
• Top pan balance


  A set of scientific measuring scales with an exposed pan

  
• Surface moisture


  The moisture covering the surface of the plant tissue that must be removed to ensure valid results
• Distilled water

  Water that has been evaporated and condensed and contains no dissolved solutes

  
• The concentration of solution


  The independent variable or factor that is changed in this experiment to investigate the effect of osmosis in plant tissue
• The mass or length of plant tissue

  The dependent variable or factor that is measured in this experiment to investigate the effect of osmosis in plant tissue
• Temperature, time, plant tissue diameter, volume of solution


  The variables that are controlled to ensure the experiment is a fair test
• Expected results


  Plant material such as potato chips kept in dilute solutions will increase in mass or length, plant material kept in concentrated solutions will decrease in mass or length