Using salt solutions to observe osmosis in potatoes.
D’OnJanea Washington Abstract
In the lab we will be using potatoes. Potatoes are members of the family Solanaceae. Solanaceous plants originated in the new world, and the potato and its relatives were first introduced to Europe in the 16th century. The edible part of a potato, the tuber, is derived from the potato stem. It is rich is starch and has some protein just under the skin. These nutrients are stored in the potato and are intended by the plant to be used for supplying energy and raw materials for new plant growth (Schultz 2006). Diffusion is the movement of molecules from an area of high concentration to an area of low concentration. Osmosis is the diffusion of water molecules …show more content…
Five pieces of potato were cut with a corer. The scale was zeroed out. Dried off and then measured the initial weight of each piece of potato core. Placed a potato core in each cup labeled with a NaCl solution. Filled the cups with the corresponding NaCl solution to the percentage on the cup. Placed just enough NaCl solution to cover the potato. Set timer for 20 mins. Potatoes soaked for 20 min. Removed potato from NaCl solution and placed on paper towel in front of corresponding cup. Potatoes were patted dry then measured again. Final weight was recorded. The initial weight was subtracted from the final weigh to determine the difference of weights.
Results
The results yield that higher the amount of salt concentration the more likely the potato core to be hypertonic. At 0% salt concentration the potato gained the most weight and was the only hypotonic result. Also, at 0.9% there wasn’t much change from the initial weight to the final weight which led us to conclude that the solution was isotonic. While most of the data was hypertonic at 5% the potatoes gained the most weight. The biggest difference in mass was at 0% and 5% salt concentration.
Table 1: Shows the change in Potato weight in the Salt concentration
Salt Concentration
(NaCl) Beginning Potato Weight (g) Potato weight after 20 minutes Difference in Mass Tonicity of …show more content…
The problem in the experiment was plant used osmosis and diffusion to absorb the nutrients that they need within the cell and get rid of the waste to maintain a healthy living cell. In plants the root absorbs water from the soil. It is necessary that the force with which the absorbing cells of that root suck up the water should be greater than the force by which the water is held back in the soil. The absorptive power of the cell is, in its turn, determined by the strength of the osmotic pressure (Hansen 1926). Osmotic pressure is the measure of tendency of a solution to take in water by Osmosis. The experiment measured the initial and final weight of potatoes that were submerged in a salt concentration to determine what amount of NaCl solution is the most optimal for osmosis to occur. It was originally hypothesized that the potato with least amount of salt concentration would weigh the most was supported because the solution with no salt had the biggest change in difference of mass. The results supported and contradicted the original hypothesis because at 0% salt concentration there was a .06 difference in mass, but there was also a 0.6 difference in mass at 5% salt concentration. It contradicted the original hypothesis due to the slat concentration 0.9% which was in between 0%-5% salt concentration had the least amount of change. It was also determined that the he solute concentration of the
D’OnJanea Washington Abstract
In the lab we will be using potatoes. Potatoes are members of the family Solanaceae. Solanaceous plants originated in the new world, and the potato and its relatives were first introduced to Europe in the 16th century. The edible part of a potato, the tuber, is derived from the potato stem. It is rich is starch and has some protein just under the skin. These nutrients are stored in the potato and are intended by the plant to be used for supplying energy and raw materials for new plant growth (Schultz 2006). Diffusion is the movement of molecules from an area of high concentration to an area of low concentration. Osmosis is the diffusion of water molecules …show more content…
Five pieces of potato were cut with a corer. The scale was zeroed out. Dried off and then measured the initial weight of each piece of potato core. Placed a potato core in each cup labeled with a NaCl solution. Filled the cups with the corresponding NaCl solution to the percentage on the cup. Placed just enough NaCl solution to cover the potato. Set timer for 20 mins. Potatoes soaked for 20 min. Removed potato from NaCl solution and placed on paper towel in front of corresponding cup. Potatoes were patted dry then measured again. Final weight was recorded. The initial weight was subtracted from the final weigh to determine the difference of weights.
Results
The results yield that higher the amount of salt concentration the more likely the potato core to be hypertonic. At 0% salt concentration the potato gained the most weight and was the only hypotonic result. Also, at 0.9% there wasn’t much change from the initial weight to the final weight which led us to conclude that the solution was isotonic. While most of the data was hypertonic at 5% the potatoes gained the most weight. The biggest difference in mass was at 0% and 5% salt concentration.
Table 1: Shows the change in Potato weight in the Salt concentration
Salt Concentration
(NaCl) Beginning Potato Weight (g) Potato weight after 20 minutes Difference in Mass Tonicity of …show more content…
The problem in the experiment was plant used osmosis and diffusion to absorb the nutrients that they need within the cell and get rid of the waste to maintain a healthy living cell. In plants the root absorbs water from the soil. It is necessary that the force with which the absorbing cells of that root suck up the water should be greater than the force by which the water is held back in the soil. The absorptive power of the cell is, in its turn, determined by the strength of the osmotic pressure (Hansen 1926). Osmotic pressure is the measure of tendency of a solution to take in water by Osmosis. The experiment measured the initial and final weight of potatoes that were submerged in a salt concentration to determine what amount of NaCl solution is the most optimal for osmosis to occur. It was originally hypothesized that the potato with least amount of salt concentration would weigh the most was supported because the solution with no salt had the biggest change in difference of mass. The results supported and contradicted the original hypothesis because at 0% salt concentration there was a .06 difference in mass, but there was also a 0.6 difference in mass at 5% salt concentration. It contradicted the original hypothesis due to the slat concentration 0.9% which was in between 0%-5% salt concentration had the least amount of change. It was also determined that the he solute concentration of the