So, since the egg was hypotonic and had a higher concentration of water, it diffused over the cell membrane to the outside solution where there was a lower concentration of water. It does because it wants to reach equilibrium, or become isotonic. This process of water diffusing out of the cell across the cell membrane made the egg lose mass and shrink. This is called plasmolysis, when the cells start to shrink due to water loss. The fact that the 4 M egg lost the greatest percent difference in mass proves that our hypothesis was correct because we thought the 4.0 M egg would show the most extreme loss in mass because the high amount of solute in the solution would make it hypertonic, forcing the water to move out of the cell and lose
So, since the egg was hypotonic and had a higher concentration of water, it diffused over the cell membrane to the outside solution where there was a lower concentration of water. It does because it wants to reach equilibrium, or become isotonic. This process of water diffusing out of the cell across the cell membrane made the egg lose mass and shrink. This is called plasmolysis, when the cells start to shrink due to water loss. The fact that the 4 M egg lost the greatest percent difference in mass proves that our hypothesis was correct because we thought the 4.0 M egg would show the most extreme loss in mass because the high amount of solute in the solution would make it hypertonic, forcing the water to move out of the cell and lose