effects of osmosis on plant tissue

• Investigating the effect of osmosis on plant tissue

  • Peel potato
  • Use cork board to produce cylinders of same diameter
  • Trim cylinders to same length (around 3cm)
  • Measure length and mass of each cylinder
  • Place cylinders in test tubes with different solutions (0.5M sugar, 2.5M sugar, distilled water)
  • Leave overnight to allow osmosis
  • Remove cylinders, gently roll on paper towel to remove surface moisture
  • Measure length and mass of cylinders again
• Percentage change


  Calculated as: (change in value / original value) x 100
• Calculating percentage change


  • Potato cylinder starting mass 1.56g, increases by 0.25g - percentage increase is 16.03%
  • Potato cylinder starting mass 1.32g, decreases by 0.19g - percentage decrease is 14.39%
• Potato cylinder in water

  Gains mass as water moves in by osmosis
• Potato cylinder in concentrated sugar solution

  Loses mass as water moves out by osmosis
• Concentration outside cell


  Same as concentration inside cell
• This is a required practical, so it's important to learn the details