Investigate the Rate of Osmosis in Different Vegetables (Carrot, Potato, Swede, Parsnip and Sweet Potato)

Investigate the Rate of Osmosis in Different Vegetables (Carrot, Potato,

Swede, Parsnip and Sweet Potato)

In this coursework experiment I plan to find the rate of osmosis in different vegetables (Carrot, Potato, Swede, Parsnip and Sweet

Potato). I will measure the mass before and after the experiment to use the results to calculate the rate of osmosis, and to find trends in the vegetables.

To ensure the experiment is fair, I will control all the other variables (Temperature, size of chip at 5cm x 1cm, concentration of solution at 0.2M etc.). I will repeat the experiment, and obtain averages for the change in mass. This allows a more accurate analysis to be obtained. Finally I will keep all the vegetables in the solutions for 1 hour, and then repeat this.

As there are no dangerous chemicals, or heating taking place, there is no need to wear protective eyewear or overalls. However I will be using scalpels and sharp instruments to cut the chips. This requires general care to be taken, and to work in a clutter-free environment.

When I am not using them I will place them away from my experiment and away from others. Any spillage of apparatus will be cleaned up directly after.

To carry out this experiment, I will need the following equipment:

· (2 x) Swede, Carrot, Potato, Parsnip and Sweet Potato.

· (2 x) 50ml of 0.2M sucrose solution. (10ml each chip).

· A razor to make the 5 x 1cm chips.

· (10 x) test tubes.

· Tile for cutting on.

· (2 x) Test tube racks.

· Safety Mat.

· Stopwatch.

· Sensitive scales.

I plan to find the rate and trend of osmosis in these vegetables. I will have to do the experiment described above to accomplish this. To find the rate I have to find the mass change in 1 hour, and I will have the rate of mass gain per hour, for each vegetable.

I predict that the vegetables will change in volume, mass, percentage change and general size during the experiment, varying for each vegetable. The biological construction of the specific vegetable will be the cause of different results. For example my own prediction is that a sweeter tasting vegetable must have more natural sugar in it, hence more osmosis will occur, and the vegetable will have a larger size gain, of water. Due to the vegetables being in 0.2M sucrose solution I predict they will all gain mass, but varying concentrations of sugar will alter the results.

For my results, I ...

... middle of paper ...

.... This anomaly is disregarded because the results were so close together that it would have been possible for the scales to pick up excess wind or someone may have lent on the table at the same time,

(Swede-0.25g, Sweet Potato-0.235g). The results were within 0.015g of each other. This would explain the anomaly.

When I repeated the experiment the results varied from the previous experiment. This shows that it was extremely easy to make mistakes in the experiment, and that I may not have cut the chips to an exactly identical size. This just proves that the data was unreliable, but still gave an idea of the experiment, and what the results should have been. To improve the method, I would have used a machine to cut the chips to an exact size, along with making sure that all the measurements were correct and accurate. I would also leave the chips in the solution for a longer time, as to obtain better results. This would also reduce risk of errors and anomalies.

To extend my work I can do other experiments of a similar nature. For example I could vary the sizes of the chips to see if that affected the results, and also change other variables, which I kept constant in this experiment.