Ryan Gamilo Title: The Effects of Three Solutions on Potato Cores Purpose:

1A-1

To find out how water and sugar solutions will affect the mass, volume, diameter, and length of potato cores. Procedure: 1. Cut three potato cores and trim them to about 30mm long, trying to make them nearly the same length. Separate them and label them A,B, or C.` 2. Copy the table into your data book. Measure the length and diameter to the nearest mm and record it. 3. Pour water into the graduated cylinder until it is half full. Record the amount of water that the lower surface curve (meniscus) touches. Using a dissecting needle, sink the cores just under the surface and record the new water level. The difference between the 2 levels is the volume of the core in mL. Record this. 4. Using the balance, find the mass of each core to the nearest 0.1 or 0.01g 5. Place each core in separate test tubers and label them A,B, and C, accordingly. Pour distilled water in A until the core is submerged. Repeat with B and C, but with an added 10% sugar solution and a 20% solution, respectively. Cover each tube with foil or plastic wrap and store them in a rack for 24 hours. 6. Wash your hands before leaving the lab. 7. Remove the cores and repeat steps 2-4. 8. Wash your hands before leaving the lab. Discussion: In the course of two days, the potato cores placed in the solvents and solutions have changed. After the two days, the potato core kept in a water solvent grew, not only in length, but also in diameter, volume, and mass. The potato core kept in a 10% sucrose solution barely changed in these things, if at all. The potato core kept in a 20% solution actually shrunk in size, thus shrinking everything else. This is due to two processes at work: diffusion and osmosis. Diffusion is the transfer of molecules from a higher concentrated surface to a less concentrated surface. Osmosis is the diffusion of water through a semipermeable membrane. The word semipermeable is use to describe a cell membrane that allows certain materials to pass through it but not others. When osmosis moves takes water out of the cells (the potato core kept in a 20% solution) the resulting decrease in size is called plasmolysis.

For potato core A, the water molecules surrounding it are moving very quickly because the water is in a liquid state. These molecules would then tend to move to a smaller concentration of water (inside the potato core) until there is equal concentration on either side of the cell membrane. Therefore, osmosis occurred; the water molecules moved through the potato cells membranes into the cells. Within the cells there is a high concentration of dissolved substances but a low concentration of water molecules. The water molecules moving into the cell, therefore, increased the water concentration inside, expanding the cell. Since this is done to all cells, the height, volume, mass, and diameter of the entire core increases as well. This is called endoosmosis, for the water molecules are diffused into another substance with a smaller concentration. The water is a hypotonic solution; the substance is purer than the dissolved molecules inside the potato core. Also, there is no osmotic pressure, since there are no other types of molecules inside the water solvent (osmotic pressure is the pressure exerted by molecules to limit osmosis). For potato core B, the sugar molecules in the 10% solution restrict the movement of the water molecules and therefore increase its osmotic pressure. However, the concentration of sugar molecules in the water solvent is nearly equal to the concentration in potato core B. This makes them isotonic solutions, where the osmotic pressure in both solutions is equal since they have equal amounts of sucrose concentration in their solutions. Because of this, the water molecules do not have to diffuse in and out of the potato core much to create equal concentration on either side of the cell membrane, if at all. In effect, the length, diameter, volume, and mass of the potato core should not have changed much, if any, after two days. Some endoosmosis might occur, but the amount of water molecules to be taken in is a very little amount. For potato core C, the sugar molecules, like in potato core B, restrict the movement of the water molecules, but since there is more concentration of sugar molecules (20%), the osmotic pressure of the water solvent is much more. Since the 10% sugar solution was about equal to the concentration inside the potato core, 20% would make the sugar molecules in the solution outside of the potato core more concentrated than the solution inside. This means that the water is less concentrated outside the core than inside. Because of this, the osmotic pressure within the cell membranes is lower than outside of them. The solution outside of the potato core, therefore, is hypertonic, since there is higher osmotic pressure exerted on the molecules. In effect, the water concentration inside the cell membrane is higher than the concentration outside. Since water molecules tend to move from a higher concentration to a lower concentration until its equal on both sides, the water molecules will move from inside the potato cores to the solution outside. This is called exoosmosis, since water molecules move out of the cell. The potato core then becomes softer in texture and goes through plasmolysis, which is the contraction of the cells when exoosmosis occurs. This makes the length, diameter, mass, and volume of the core become much smaller. Conclusion:

After this lab, I learned about how diffusion and osmosis affects the size of not only potato cores, but all plant cells in general. I also learned about isotonic, hypertonic, and hypotonic solutions and how they affect osmosis. I learned that a potato core grows when placed in a hypotonic solution, doesnt change in size when placed in an isotonic solution, and actually decreases in size when placed in a hypertonic solution. I was able to observe the changes in size of 3 potato cores when placed in these solutions.

Sources of Error: The only error that occurred during this experiment is recording the volume. To record the volume, you had to place the core just below the waters surface and see how much the water level rose to. In doing the experiment, I did put the core under the water, but I did not sink the WHOLE core under the water. This is to explain the abnormality in the values of the volume that I recorded while doing this lab. In fact, if the volume of a cylinder is applied to these values, multiplying the square of the radius (half of the diameter) by pi (or 22/7) I would have a value that is much higher than the one I recorded. The source of this error, then, is not understanding this section of the method carefully enough. Other than that, the experiment was a success and perfectly done.