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Osmolarity of Potato Tissue: Biology IA

This experiment examines the effect of solutions with different concentrations of glucose on potato cylinders. The potato cylinders increased in mass and volume when placed in hypotonic solutions (less concentrated than their cytoplasm), decreased in mass and volume in hypertonic solutions (more concentrated), and did not change in isotonic solutions (equally concentrated). Statistical analysis showed the results were significant except between the highest two concentrations, supporting the hypothesis. The experiment demonstrates the principles of osmosis.

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95 views

Osmolarity of Potato Tissue: Biology IA

This experiment examines the effect of solutions with different concentrations of glucose on potato cylinders. The potato cylinders increased in mass and volume when placed in hypotonic solutions (less concentrated than their cytoplasm), decreased in mass and volume in hypertonic solutions (more concentrated), and did not change in isotonic solutions (equally concentrated). Statistical analysis showed the results were significant except between the highest two concentrations, supporting the hypothesis. The experiment demonstrates the principles of osmosis.

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© © All Rights Reserved
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Osmolarity of potato tissue

Biology IA
Devanshi Trivedi

PURPOSE OF THE EXPERIMENT


To find out the osmolarity of potato tissue when placed in solutions of different
concentrations to see what happens when potato cylinders are kept in solutions with
different tonicities. I performed this experiment as I wanted to see what would happen if
potato plants got water that was too sweet, for example: sugar solution, or too pure, for
example: distilled water. I did this to see why plants are watered with regular tap water
and not any other processed or purified water.

RESEARCH QUESTION
What effect will solutions with different tonicity have on potato cylinders of the same
mass and volume when incubated in them for the same amount of time?

HYPOTHESIS
The potato cylinders will increase in mass and volume when placed in a hypotonic
solution, decrease when placed in a hypertonic solution and remain the same when
placed in an isotonic solution.

VARIABLES
Table 1: List of the variables in the experiment
Independent Variable

Concentration of glucose solution

Dependent Variables

Mass of potato cylinder


Volume of potato cylinder
Incubation time
Volume of solutions
Potato used for the experiment
Surface Area of the potato cylinder
Temperature of the solutions

Controlled Variables

Table 2: Control of Variables


Controlled Variable
Surface Area of potato strips

Volume of glucose solution used


Temperature of the solution used
Incubation time

How will it be controlled?


By keeping the length and radius of the
cylinders same and using the same cork
borer
Measuring 10 ml of it using a syringe into
each test-tube
By keeping the setups in the same room
with air-conditioning
Measuring 1 hour with a clock

BACKGROUND OF THE EXPERIMENT


When plant tissues are kept in solutions of different concentrations, they will show
changes based on the tonicity of the solution used. This experiment uses six different
concentrations of glucose solutions to find the changes in the mass and volume of
potato cylinders when incubated in the solutions for an hour each. This experiment is
based on the concept of osmosis, which is a type of passive membrane transport in
which water molecules move from areas of higher water potential to areas of lower
water potential through a partially permeable membrane. Based on this, there are three
types of solutions that can be found in relativity to the solution that we are using, which
here is the cytoplasm of the potato cells; hypotonic solutions which have a higher
water potential than our solution, hypertonic solutions which have a lower water
potential than our solution, and isotonic solutions which have a water potential
equivalent to our solution.

PROCEDURE
Safety Measures:

Be careful when using a sharp blade to cut potato strips


Do not hold the potato in your hand while cutting it with a cork borer. Use a white
tile
Wear safety goggles and gloves while conducting the experiment
Be cautious around the glass test-tubes and beakers and handle them carefully

Materials Required:

A potato
Cork borer
White tile
Six test-tubes filled with different concentrations of glucose solutions
Scalpel
Digital weighing scale
Ruler
Clock/ Stopwatch

Methodology:

Cut thirty cylinders of from the potato by pushing the cork borer through the
potato tuber and removing the tissue from the borer
Make the length of the cylinders 3 centimeters
Weigh each cylinder and note down the initial mass and volume

Place five cylinders in each of the six different concentrations of glucose


solutions provided in the test-tubes and leave undisturbed for an hour
Remove the cylinders after an hour and blot using blotting paper
Measure the new mass and volume and note it down in the table

DATA COLLECTION
Table 3: Change in mass of potato strips of length 3 centimeters after being kept in
different concentrations of glucose solutions for an hour
Concentration of
sucrose
solutions
(moldm^-3)

0.000

0.200

0.400

0.600

0.800

1.000

Initial mass (+/0.001 gm)

Final mass (+/0.001 gm)

Strip 1
Strip 2
Strip 3
Strip 4
Strip 5

1.682

1.897

1.690

1.904

1.105

1.258

1.135

1.305

1.007

1.164

Strip 1
Strip 2
Strip 3
Strip 4
Strip 5
Strip 1
Strip 2
Strip 3
Strip 4
Strip 5
Strip 1
Strip 2
Strip 3
Strip 4
Strip 5
Strip 1
Strip 2
Strip 3
Strip 4
Strip 5
Strip 1
Strip 2
Strip 3
Strip 4
Strip 5

1.652
1.653
1.151
1.174

1.729

1.010

1.087

1.736
1.658
1.181
1.197
1.027
1.743
1.686

1.586

1.170

0.946

1.192
1.019
1.721
1.611
1.147
1.147
1.069
1.683

0.967

1.736
1.241
1.252

1.651
1.085
1.099
1.078
1.442
1.484

0.872
1.335
1.272

1.720

0.831
0.817
0.853
1.203
1.351

1.149
1.145
1.013

0.792
0.814
0.798

Change in
mass (FinalInitial)
0.215
0.214
0.153
0.17
0.157
0.077
0.083
0.09
0.078
0.077
-0.15
-0.007
-0.096
-0.098
0.051
-0.301
-0.202
-0.224
-0.225
-0.147
-0.386
-0.339
-0.316
-0.33
-0.216
-0.48
-0.369
-0.357
-0.331
-0.215

Table 4: Change in volumes of potato strips of r= 4.00.1 cm after being kept in


different concentrations of sucrose solutions for an hour
Initial volume/cm

Final volume/cm

Change in volume/cm

1.609

0.099

1.508

-0.002

1.483

-0.027

1.293

-0.217

1.078

-0.432

1.078

-0.432

1.510

Table 5: Qualitative observations of potato cylinders before and after being immersed
into different concentrations of glucose solutions for an hour
Glucose solution
concentration/moldm
0.0
0.2

0.4
0.6
0.8
1.0

Qualitative Observations
Before
Cylinder sinks, turgid
and intact
Cylinder sinks, turgid
and intact
Cylinder sinks, turgid
and intact
Cylinder sinks, turgid
and intact
Cylinder floats, turgid
and intact
Cylinder floats, turgid
and intact

DATA PROCESSING:
Sample Calculation for Percentage change in Mass:
(Change in Mass Final Mass)*100
At 0.0 moldm,
(0.215/1.9005)*100 = 11.3%

After
More firm and
slightly swollen
Similar turgidity
and slightly
swollen
Slightly flaccid and
smaller
Flaccid and
smaller
Flaccid, bendy and
smaller
Soft, bendy and
shrunken

Table 6: Percentage change in mass of potato strips with the standard deviation in
different concentrations of sucrose solutions for an hour
Concentration of
sucrose solutions
(moldm^-3)

0.000

0.200

0.400

0.600

0.800

1.000

Strip 1
Strip 2
Strip 3
Strip 4
Strip 5
Strip 1
Strip 2
Strip 3
Strip 4
Strip 5
Strip 1
Strip 2
Strip 3
Strip 4
Strip 5
Strip 1
Strip 2
Strip 3
Strip 4
Strip 5
Strip 1
Strip 2
Strip 3
Strip 4
Strip 5
Strip 1
Strip 2
Strip 3
Strip 4
Strip 5

Percentage
change in mass
(change in
mass/initial
mass*100)
12.782
12.663
13.846
14.978
15.591
4.661
5.021
7.819
6.644
7.624
-8.641
-0.422
-8.129
-8.187
4.966
-17.269
-11.981
-19.145
-18.876
-14.426
-22.429
-21.043
-27.550
-28.771
-20.206
-28.520
-21.453
-31.070
-28.908
-21.224

Average
percentage
change in mass

Standard
Deviation

13.972

1.302

6.354

1.457

-4.083

6.109

-16.339

3.075

-24.000

3.904

-26.235

4.575

Average Percentage Change in Mass/%

Change in mass of potato strips in glucose solutions of different


concentrations
30
20
10
0
-10

0.000

0.200

0.400

0.600

0.800

1.000

Average percentage change in


mass

-20
-30
-40

Concentration of glucose solution/moldm

Fig. 1: Graph of average percentage change in mass of potato strips in sucrose


solutions of different concentrations
DATA ANALYSIS AND EVALUATION:
Table 7: Results of the t-test on the data
Concentration of glucose
solution/moldm
0.0-0.2
0.2-0.4
0.40.6
0.6-0.8
0.8-1.0

Result
2.336E-05
0.006
0.004
0.009
0.430

This shows that all the results except the last one are significant with p<0.05.
The conclusion is that the hypothesis was proved correct, as the mass increased in less
concentration of glucose solution which was hypotonic while the mass decreased in
higher concentrations of glucose as the solution turned hypertonic. We can estimate the
tonicity of the cytoplasm of the potato tissue to be around 0.3 moldm.
ERRORS AND LIMITATIONS
Error: The potato tissue couldnt be kept for a longer time in the solution which would
have given a better result.
Improvement: Leave the setup overnight for better results

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