Osmosis effects on plant tissue practical

• Osmosis


  Diffusion of water from a dilute solution to a concentrated solution through a partially permeable membrane
• Plant cells placed in water

  Water moves into the cell by osmosis, causing the cell to expand
• Plant cells placed in concentrated solution


  Water moves out of the plant cell by osmosis, causing the cell to shrink
• Investigating the effect of osmosis on plant tissue


  1. Peel potato

  2. Use cork borer to produce cylinders

  3. Trim cylinders to same length

  4. Measure length and mass of cylinders

  5. Place cylinders in test tubes with different solutions

  6. Leave overnight

  7. Remove cylinders, gently roll on paper towel

  8. Measure length and mass of cylinders again
• Distilled water


  Contains no dissolved substances that could affect the weight of osmosis
• Percentage change


  Calculated as: (change in value / original value) x 100
• Concentration of sugar solution

  Affects percentage change in mass or length of potato cylinder
• Graph of percentage change vs sugar solution concentration shows water moving in/out of cell by osmosis