VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY – HO CHI MINH CITY

INTERNATIONAL UNIVERSITY

12/27/2021

Biology Lab Report -

1

Instructor: Tong Thi Hang

Tuesday morning class
Our group number is undefined at the moment

Group member:
Mai Lê Chí Bảo – BTBTWE21068
Lữ Nguyễn Tấn Hùng – BTBTIU21135
Trần Xuân Quỳnh – BTBTIU21097
Lê Anh Tuấn – BTBTIU21112
I. PLANT CELLS AND ANIMAL CELLS OBSERVATION

1/ Introduction:
Plant and animal cells are both eukaryotic cells, which means they have a nucleus and organelles
that are membrane-bound. They have a cell membrane, nucleus, mitochondria, golgi apparatus,
endoplasmic reticulum, ribosomes, and other organelles in common.
There are differences between animal and plant cells. Animal cells, unlike the eukaryotic cells
of plants and fungus, lack a cell wall. Also, unlike animal cells, plant cells have chloroplasts and
a huge central vacuole, whereas animal cells do not.
These extra organelles enable plant cells to stand erect without the use of a skeleton (cell wall
and central vacuole), as well as manufacture their own sustenance through photosynthesis
(chloroplasts). Mostly, both animal and plant cells are between 1 and 100 micrometers in size
and can only be seen under a microscope. These experiments show how to prepare and observe
onion-epidermis-cell sample and human-cheek-cells sample via light microscope.
2/ Procedure:
a. Onion-epidermis sample:
 Remove the tin topmost layer of the onion bulb
 Place the epidermis layer flat on a slide.
 Add a drop of water/Lugol solution, cover with a coverslip.
 Place the slide under microscope and observe from 4x, 10x,40x to 100x.
b. Human-cheek sample:
 Scrap gently the dental plague with broad end of toothpick
 Smear the plague on a slide, add drops of water/lugol solution
 Cover with a coverslip, place the slide under microscope and observe from 4x, 10x, 40x.
3/ Observation:

Onion cells
in 4x lens Onion cells in 10x lens
 Nucleus

Cellular double
membrane

Cytoplas
m

Onion cells in 40x lens

Onion cells in 100x lens

Cheek cells in 4x lens Cheek cells in 10x lens

Cellular membrane

Nucleus

Cytoplas
m

Cheek cells in 40x lens

 4/ Discussion:
a. What is the function of Lugol in these experiments? 
 Determination of starch in tissue sample  
 Make the specimen easier to observe
 Observe how a cell membrane uses osmosis and diffusion.  
b. What is the difference between animal cells and plant cells? 
 The shape of the plant cells is rectangle/cube while the shape of the animal cells is
round and irregular
 Animal cells are smaller than plant cells
 The plant cells have cell wall while the animal cells do not
 The plant cells have chloroplast while the animal cells do not  
 The plant cells were together in large group while the animal cells were secluded  
 Animal cells may have many small vacuoles while plant cells have a large central
vacuole that can occupy up to 90% of the cell's volume.

II. OSMOSIS IN PLANT CELLS

1/ Introduction:
In plant cells, osmosis is the passive movement of molecules from an area of higher solute
concentration to a region of lower solute concentration through a semipermeable, or differentially
permeable, membrane. Pressure can be used to prevent osmosis from developing.

There are 3 types of osmosis:

 Isotonic solution: water potential of inside the plant cell is similar to outside the plant cell. There
is no net movement of water across membrane.
 Hypotonic solution: which has water potential inside the cell lower than outside the cell, water
moves from outside to inside the cell, leading to hemolysis.
 Hypertonic solution: which has water potential inside the cell greater than outside the cell, water
moves from inside to outside the cell; causing plasmolysis.

2/ Procedure:
 Peel a thin epidermis (purple side) of the red onion by scalpel, make 2 samples.
 Putting a small drop of 0.85% NaCl on both samples, cover with coverslip and place under 40x
lens.
 Add 2-3 drops of 5% NaCl to the edge of sample 1 and 2-3 drops of distilled water with sample
2. Observe the changes.

Because of the lack of Zebrina-pendula-leaf online experiment, we prefer to use red onion cells
for this experiment
 3/ Observation:

0.85% NaCl
5% NaCl

Purple area has medium size. The cell remains Purple area in the cells becomes smaller, darker
their shape and size purple; the cell wall remains the cell shape

0.85% NaCl
Distilled water

Purple area has medium size. The cell remains Purple area in the cells slightly becomes larger,
their shape and size slighter purple; the cell wall remains the cell
shape
4/ Discussion:
a. Explain the phenomenon 
 When NaCl is added, the solute concentration in the outer environment is higher than the
solute concentration in the inner environment. Water tends to escape to equalize the osmotic
pressure causing the cell to contract and detach from the cell wall. As a result, the purple color
takes up the entire cell at first, but after NaCl is added, the purple part is shrunk. This is
Plasmolysis.
 When adding water, the outside environment has a lower solute concentration than the inner
environment, so water penetrates from the outside into the cell and helps the cell return to its
original state. This is incipient plasmolysis.
 
b. When putting plant cells in concentrated NaCl, plasmolysis happened. When
putting animal cells in water, hemolysis occurred. What makes the phenomenon in
plant cells different from in animal cells? 
 
Plant cells in concentrated NaCl and plasmolysis happened. The phenomenon “plasmolysis“
happens when the plant cells in the hypertonic environment, so the water tends to move from
inside to outside and make the cells shrink.  

Animal cells in water and hemolysis occurred when the animal cells in the hypotonic
environment. The water tends to move from outside to in inside and make the animal cells bigger
and then they will burst.  

The plant cells have the cell wall so when they are in the hypotonic environment. When the
water tends to move from outside to inside and it make the cytoplasm of the cell press against the
cell wall. And this phenomenon makes the cells squeeze each other and keep the structure
sustainable. The cell wall’s function is preventing the water absorption so the plant cells can’t be
bigger, and they do not burst.

Animal cells in the hypertonic solution will be similar with the plant cells. Water will move from
inside to outside and make the cells shrink.