Potato Osmosis In Potato

There were many observable factors when investigating osmosis in potatoes. Four different solutions were created (distilled water, 1% salt (NaCl), 3% salt and 5% salt. The potatoes were sliced until they were 3cm long, each test tube contained 3 strips of potato cores and a different concentration. The potato strips were weighed and the results recorded. The potato cores were left in each solution for 24 hours. Once the test results were collected the data was averaged and placed into a graph and a table. As shown in both the table and the graph, both results from the group E20 and the class data prove the fact of osmosis. which can be seen when the potatoes are placed in a distilled solution for 24 hours they gain weight. And when placed in …show more content…
As can be seen in figure 2 the distilled potatoes (blue) visibly had an increase in weight for both group E20 and the Class. The potatoes in the 1% (orange), 3% (grey), 5% (yellow) concentrations had a decrease in weight. Again, proving the hypothesis… however the hypothesis also states, “the more salt concentrated the water solution, the higher the decline would be as the salt concentration increases.” Which does not correlate with the graph, as the potatoes in the 3% solution has a higher decline than the 5% solution meaning the potatoes in the 3% solution lost more …show more content…
On solutions with a high amount of dissolved solute have a lower concentration of water, water will move from a solution of high water concentration to one with a low water concentration. This is the osmotic flow. “in an area of high numbers of particles and an area of low numbers of particles, the particles will diffuse or move from the area of higher to the area of lower concentration” (Study.com, 2016). This is called passive diffusion. A hypotonic solution requires a lower osmotic pressure than the solution to which it is compared. Water is then forced into the protein lined channels; this increased mass of the solution creates a blockade which decreases the ration that the solution leaves the cell and increases the rate of solutions that enter the cell expanding the cell. (Sciencing, 2018) This was observed in the distilled water test-tube. A hypertonic solution is the opposite where it requires a higher osmotic pressure than the solution to which it is compared. This was observed in the 1%, 3%, 5% test tube where after 24 hours the potatoes gained in mass. Observations were made of their texture, colour and flexibility. After the 24 hours the potatoes were turgid and flaccid, they had a little browning around the sides of the potato