Osmosis Lab Report

Osmosis Paragraph

Every living organism’s salt content is controlled by osmosis. Through osmosis, water moves across an organism’s surface and/or membrane. Osmosis usually moves from high concentration to low concentration. In this experiment we decided to add 300mL of water in 2 jars labeled a Jar A was filled with freshwater while Jar B was created into a saltwater solution. After we added a 1 piece of each of our vegetables which were (carrot, celery and raisin). After we added the vegetables we added cling wrap to each of our jars so the water doesn't evaporate and turn into water vapor. In groups we had to figure out what happens to the vegetables before and after 24 hours in the saltwater, and the freshwater. Vegetables such as carrots

If the carrot is placed in freshwater, the carrot is saltier than the surrounding water, so the water moves into the carrot. Which causes the carrot to stiffen , or preserve its crispness. This is why cut carrots and celery are often stored in freshwater. This is also why the action of salt water is an important part for life in the oceans. Animals in the ocean maintains high levels of salt themselves so they can avoid the dehydrating effects of the salt water. With osmosis, we found with the carrots and celery, substances go from higher to lower salt concentrations across a membrane. Hence the water tends to leave the inside of the organism unless it has a higher salt level than its environment, but in the raisin each cell is surrounded by a cell membrane which acts much as our skin does. It keeps the cells parts inside and keeps other things outside, protecting the cell, but the membrane of the raisin stops most things, water can pass through it. The saltwater tends to move towards higher concentrations of dissolved chemicals. That means that if the water outside the cell is saltier than the water inside of the raisin, water will move from the inside of the raisin to the outside. That is what happened to the raisin in the