Biology Plasmolysis Coursework
Intro
I am going to do an investigation into what concentration of sucrose solution would cause “Incipient Plasmolysis”.
Theory
Plasmolysis is the result of a (in particular) plant cell which has lost vast amounts of water. When this happens, turgor pressure within the cell has decreased to the point where the cytoplasm of the cell membrane peels away from the cell wall. When this begins to happen it is called Incipient Plasmolysis and when the cytoplasm is almost completely gone it is call “full/complete” Plasmolysis. Plasmolysis is only possible if the cell is placed in a hypertonic solution, which is a solution where the water external to the cell has more solutes than within the plant cell and because of that the water potential outside the cell would be lower than inside the cell. This would cause water (turgor pressure) to be lost by Osmosis.
Osmosis is the net movement of water from high pressure to low pressure across a partially permiable membrane and it is that reason that it requires no energy for the movement. Osmosis eventually stops/slows down when water pressure has become balanced out between the “movements”.
Planning & Implementing
In this study I will use different solutions of sugar mixed in water (Sucrose solution) and I will be using sugar because it is known to be hypertonic. I will use red onion cells because the cell sap is coloured making the process of incipient plasmolysis easier to see. By that I mean it will be easier to see the cell membrane peeling away from the cell wall.
If this is correct it will change the water from being hypotonic to being hypertonic in high enough sucrose concentrations.
Preliminary Results
Before I started this experiment I did a preliminary test, to test whether certain methods of conducting the experiment would work. This was important because it allowed myself to not only prepare but also detect any early onset problems that could occur. For the initial experiments I did a single test for each
I am going to do an investigation into what concentration of sucrose solution would cause “Incipient Plasmolysis”.
Theory
Plasmolysis is the result of a (in particular) plant cell which has lost vast amounts of water. When this happens, turgor pressure within the cell has decreased to the point where the cytoplasm of the cell membrane peels away from the cell wall. When this begins to happen it is called Incipient Plasmolysis and when the cytoplasm is almost completely gone it is call “full/complete” Plasmolysis. Plasmolysis is only possible if the cell is placed in a hypertonic solution, which is a solution where the water external to the cell has more solutes than within the plant cell and because of that the water potential outside the cell would be lower than inside the cell. This would cause water (turgor pressure) to be lost by Osmosis.
Osmosis is the net movement of water from high pressure to low pressure across a partially permiable membrane and it is that reason that it requires no energy for the movement. Osmosis eventually stops/slows down when water pressure has become balanced out between the “movements”.
Planning & Implementing
In this study I will use different solutions of sugar mixed in water (Sucrose solution) and I will be using sugar because it is known to be hypertonic. I will use red onion cells because the cell sap is coloured making the process of incipient plasmolysis easier to see. By that I mean it will be easier to see the cell membrane peeling away from the cell wall.
If this is correct it will change the water from being hypotonic to being hypertonic in high enough sucrose concentrations.
Preliminary Results
Before I started this experiment I did a preliminary test, to test whether certain methods of conducting the experiment would work. This was important because it allowed myself to not only prepare but also detect any early onset problems that could occur. For the initial experiments I did a single test for each