Lab Introduction

According to IHW (2005), there are different ways substances can pass through the
membrane, whether it is to enter or leave the cells. They are mainly divided into 2 ways ; active
and passive. Osmosis is one special type of passive transport which is a diffusion of water through
a selectively permeable membrane without using energy, in which it moves from the side of lower
solute concentration to the higher solute concentration. Because this selectively permeable
membrane only allows some substances to pass through, not every solute can pass through it as
water can. Normally, each side will have different concentration of a solute, therefore, there will be
a movement of water from the side with less solute (hypotonic) to the side with more solute
(hypertonic). But if the solute can cross the membrane, there would be a balance of the two sides,
which is called an Isotonic solution. So these types of solutions are very important to living
things ,to the patients in the hospital , to the plants absorption of water , also freshwater and
seawater animals could not survive without this.(Saucedo,2012)
To get a clearer picture and also a better understanding of how the water moves in
osmosis, conducting an experiment would be a great way. In this experiment, we will be soaking a
jelly and potato in both hypertonic and hypotonic solution. So after the experiment, we will be able
to observe the change in volume and mass, which can tell us the movement of water whether it
goes in or out of the jelly/potato.

References

IHW (March,2005). Movement across membranes. Retrieved 06 March 2017 from http://
www.biologymad.com/resources/diffusionrevision.pdf

Saucedo, J. (May 1,2012). Osmosis. Retrieved 06 March 2017 from http://

www.brighthubeducation.com/science-homework-help/111424-guide-to-hypotonic-hypertonic-
and-isotonic-solutions/