Osmosis Lab Report
b.) The mass decreased or increased in each cylinder, depending on if the solution was hypotonic, hypertonic or isotonic. In Cylinder (A) the mass decreased, so liquid was released from the potato, because the cells in the potato would have burst if even more was absorbed, whereas the length stayed the same. In Cylinder (B) the mass and length increased, which means the potato cells absorbed some Sodium Chloride (NaCl), so the cells don’t shrivel up and die. For Cylinder 3 the mass and length also increased, like cylinder (B). The potato cells would have shrivelled up if water was released, so by absorbing more it avoided this.
c.) The liquid that was…to the cell sap of the potato…
i. Isotonic was NaCl (0.25M). The percentage change in length …show more content…
iii. Hypertonic was NaCl (0.12M). The percentage change was negative for the length, which means liquid was lost or released, but as said above the mass increased, so one cannot be sure.
Although, I said before that NaCl (0.25M) is isotonic the mass decreased, which indicates that it is hypertonic, so we cannot be sure which it is exactly.
d.) I think that mass was more effective, because the potato does not necessarily grow or shrink in length when more or less water is absorbed or released. It might just become heavier, meaning the mass can increase without the length increasing. For example, in cylinder (A) the mass decreased indicating it is hypotonic to the cell sap, but the length stayed the same. So it is hard to say if it is hypotonic or isotonic. And with the first point I made then we could say it is hypotonic.
Also, it is more accurate to choose mass, because with the scales we use we know the mass to two decimal places, whereas when we measure length using a ruler, it is not possible to measure to two decimal places. Additionally, it is already hard to get the exact measurement, using one decimal place, if the edges are not totally straight on the sides of the potato
c.) The liquid that was…to the cell sap of the potato…
i. Isotonic was NaCl (0.25M). The percentage change in length …show more content…
iii. Hypertonic was NaCl (0.12M). The percentage change was negative for the length, which means liquid was lost or released, but as said above the mass increased, so one cannot be sure.
Although, I said before that NaCl (0.25M) is isotonic the mass decreased, which indicates that it is hypertonic, so we cannot be sure which it is exactly.
d.) I think that mass was more effective, because the potato does not necessarily grow or shrink in length when more or less water is absorbed or released. It might just become heavier, meaning the mass can increase without the length increasing. For example, in cylinder (A) the mass decreased indicating it is hypotonic to the cell sap, but the length stayed the same. So it is hard to say if it is hypotonic or isotonic. And with the first point I made then we could say it is hypotonic.
Also, it is more accurate to choose mass, because with the scales we use we know the mass to two decimal places, whereas when we measure length using a ruler, it is not possible to measure to two decimal places. Additionally, it is already hard to get the exact measurement, using one decimal place, if the edges are not totally straight on the sides of the potato