MODELING OSMOSIS (LAB) PROBLEM: Which way will water flow when a raw egg is placed in 250ml of vinegar?

HYPOTHESIS: If a raw egg is placed in vinegar (water) and left for four days, then the water will flow from the area of high concentration (the vinegar), through a selectively permeable membrane, and to an area of lower concentration (the egg). THEORY: Osmosis is the diffusion of water from an area with high concentration to an area of low concentration across a selectively permeable membrane. Vinegar is made up of 95% water, and an egg is made up of 74% water. Roughly 3% of vinegar is made up of acetic acid. The outside of an egg is a shell of calcium carbonate. When these two substances come into contact with one another, a chemical reaction can be witnessed. Because of this, the vinegars high water concentration will enter through the shell and into the eggs lower water concentration. PROCEDURE: 1. Measure circumference of a raw egg using string and a ruler in cm. 2. Place egg in beaker and fill with 150 mL of vinegar. 3. Record observations. 4. Measure circumference for 4 days and record observations. DATA/OBSERVATIONS: DAYS CIRCUMFERENCE (cm) 1 14cm 2 15cm

LIQUID LEVEL (ml) 300 mL (egg in) 250 mL (egg out) 300 mL (egg in) 200 mL (egg out) 290 mL (egg in) 190 mL (egg out)

OBSERVATIONS Bubbles 50 mL displaced 50 mL absorbed by egg. Chalky texture Uneven Shell partially dissolved. Silky smooth surface Saturated No shell Transparent

16cm

TOTAL EXPANSION GROUP # = 2cm AVERAGE EXPANSION CLASS = 2.6cm AVERAGE EXPANSION (7th GRADE)= 2.7cm

100% of tested eggs (37) expanded.

OSMOSIS: EGG EXPANSION

19

Circumference in CM

18 17 16 15 14 13 12 1 2 3 14 15 16 Egg Circumference

Days Measured

AVERAGE EXPANSION
AVERAGE EXPANSION
3 2.5 2 1.5 1 0.5 0 1 GROUP 4 2 PERIOD 1 3 SEVENTH GRADE AVERAGE EXPANSION 2 2.6 2.7

CONCLUSION Our egg started with a circumference of 14cm. Over the next 4 days, Osmosis occurred, as the egg was in a beaker of vinegar. This vinegar had a very high concentration of water, and the egg on the other hand had a low concentration. What happened over the four days consisted of the water molecules diffusing across a selectively permeable membrane (The eggshell/egg casing) and into the egg, causing it to expand. Over time, our egg expanded a total of 2cm in circumference. The average for our grade, out of 7 periods, was 2.7cm. My hypothesis was that the water would diffuse from the vinegar to the egg. My hypothesis was correct.

ANALYSIS 1. What caused the eggshell to dissolve? The vinegar (Weak acid) has enough acidity to eat away at the egg shell (Calcium Carbonate), dissolving the eggs pores along with it. This exposes the eggs selectively permeable membrane, which sped up the vinegars diffusion.

2. Period 7 Group 3s egg expanded by 4.5 cm after 4 days, compared to Group 7, which expanded 1.1 cm. Compare the results of these two groups. What was the difference in expansion? What was the rate (distance/time) of expansion in 4 days? Explain the discrepancy in data. Why did these groups get different results? These two groups have a large difference in their data, with a range of 2.4cm in expansion. The difference between these results is more than my groups entire expansion. Group 3 expanded at an average rate of 1.125cm per day. On the other hand, Group 7 expanded 0.275cm per day. This extreme range in data very likely isnt accurate data. These groups may have gotten different results due to the fact that they may have measured incorrectly or had an egg that was bloated before the lab began. Group 7= 0.275 cm per day Group 3= 1.125 cm per day

GROUP # 3 7

PERIOD 7 TOTAL EXPANSION IN 4 DAYS 4.5 cm 1.1 cm

3. Why do cells need water? If a cell had no water, none of the organelles would function correctly. Chemical reactions take place in the water, and none of those functions would take place if the water were absent from the cell. Cells would be very useless and inefficient if water didnt exist inside cells.