Just like living organisms, potatoes are made up of tiny, living units called cells. Each cell is surrounded by a cell membrane assisting in the transportation of molecules as well as protecting and keeping out harmful molecules. (Tucker, 2006) The reason certain potatoes gained mass while some lose over the 24 hour period is solely affected by the relationship between the concentrations of the solute in the cell verse the concentration outside the cell. As discussion in the introduction, the increase of solute concentration in the potato and less outside caused the potato to gain mass and swell. This resulted in the potato receiving water from the concentration outside the potato giving increasing its mass. This is an example of a hypotonic
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This is an example of a hypertonic solution as the potato loses its water due to the process of osmosis. The difference in concentration is one main factor that affected the rate of osmosis, resulting in more or less mass being gained/lost. The larger the gradient, the more mass is gained (or lost), explaining the larger magnitude in percent change of the masses of the potatoes collected. Possible sources of errors affect the accuracy of the results in the experiment as the calculations of the data fluctuates. This further affects the conclusion drawn from the lab. One possible source of error created during this lab is the initial mass of the potato slices. Although the initial mass of the potatoes were precisely cut and measured possible errors can be taken into consideration. The slight variation …show more content…
Osmosis is mainly used in the red blood cells. The diffusion of red blood cells takes place in our blood every second, providing an equal amount of water entering and exiting the cell. The diffusion of blood also helps in distributing nutrients throughout the body. (Molecular Cellular Biology, 2000) These cells undergo diffusion through an isotonic solution evenly distributing essential nutrients throughout the body. If these red blood cells are placed in a lower solution or a higher solution than what they are used to, then potential health risk can develop. (Molecular Cellular Biology,
This is an example of a hypertonic solution as the potato loses its water due to the process of osmosis. The difference in concentration is one main factor that affected the rate of osmosis, resulting in more or less mass being gained/lost. The larger the gradient, the more mass is gained (or lost), explaining the larger magnitude in percent change of the masses of the potatoes collected. Possible sources of errors affect the accuracy of the results in the experiment as the calculations of the data fluctuates. This further affects the conclusion drawn from the lab. One possible source of error created during this lab is the initial mass of the potato slices. Although the initial mass of the potatoes were precisely cut and measured possible errors can be taken into consideration. The slight variation …show more content…
Osmosis is mainly used in the red blood cells. The diffusion of red blood cells takes place in our blood every second, providing an equal amount of water entering and exiting the cell. The diffusion of blood also helps in distributing nutrients throughout the body. (Molecular Cellular Biology, 2000) These cells undergo diffusion through an isotonic solution evenly distributing essential nutrients throughout the body. If these red blood cells are placed in a lower solution or a higher solution than what they are used to, then potential health risk can develop. (Molecular Cellular Biology,