Osmosis in Potatoes

Osmosis in Potatoes

Aim:

My aim in this experiment is to find out if osmosis occurs in a

potato, and how it will affect the potato in different molar solutions

of sucrose and water. Using the same size potato.

Theory:

Osmosis is the passage of water molecules from a weaker solution into

a stronger solution, through a partially permeable membrane. The tiny

holes in the membrane of the potatoes will allow the water molecules

to pass through in and out of the solution and the potato, depending

on the concentration gradient of the two substances. So in this case,

when the water concentration is lower than the potato , the sucrose

will go inside the potato, and the potato will gain weight. If there

is a higher concentration of sucrose in the potato, the sucrose should

leave again.

So it think that 0.2m will have the most weight loss because the is

less sucrose to get through the potato.

Apparatus:

Cutting tile - to cut the potato on

Knife - to cut the potato

Measuring cylinder - to measure the solutions

sucrose - part of the experiment

water - part of the experiment

Potatoes - part of the experiment

Fair test:

To make this experiment a fair test I am going to use the exact same

size potato pieces and the same amounts of solution But I believe one

of the most important step in the fair testing is to make sure that

the potato is fully covered by the solution. This is because the

potato should fully submerge, by having total contact with the

solution.

whether its Sucrose or Water, also I will do all 12 solutions at the

same with two of each solution (e.g. 0.2m) and take them out 72 hours

later so they all have the same length of time in the solution. Then

also I will repeat the experiment and find an average out of the

length and weight of the potatoes.