Rate Of Osmosis
Rate of Osmosis vs Solute Concentration
Introduction: In nature, the quest to reach equilibrium, or the state of rest or balance due to the equal action of opposing forces (http://www.dictionary.com). Osmosis and diffusion are two ways that cells reach this equilibrium, without exerting energy. Due to the unique nature of the phospholipid bilayer, small molecules can pass through the semipermeable membrane easily, through diffusion (https://www.biologycorner.com). Water, however, has a slightly more difficult time diffusing, and diffuses in a different way, called osmosis. Osmosis involves aquaporins, specialized proteins in the phospholipid bilayer, to facilitate the diffusion of water across the gradient to reach equilibrium. Water potential, or the measure of potential energy that water has, is determined by solute concentration and pressure (https://www.boundless.com/biology/textbooks). The formula for water potential is as follows: ψ = ψP + ψS, where ψP equals pressure potential and where ψS equals solute potential (-iCRT). Cells need a small size so that they can have an equal …show more content…
The first experiment involved agar cubes, each with a different surface area, to measure how surface area affects the rate of diffusion. In this experiment, the constants included 2% agar containing the pH indicator dye phenolphthalein, 1% phenolphthalein solution, 0.1M NaOH, 0.1M HCl, squares of hard, thin plastic (from disposable plates); unserrated knives; or scalpels from dissection kits, metric rulers, petri dishes or test tubes to hold the agar cubes. For the independent variable, the cubes were cut into different sizes to model different surface areas. Thus, the dependant variable was the rate of diffusion into the cell. For a control, an uncut agar cube was used. Two separate agar cubes were cut to serve as the experimental
Introduction: In nature, the quest to reach equilibrium, or the state of rest or balance due to the equal action of opposing forces (http://www.dictionary.com). Osmosis and diffusion are two ways that cells reach this equilibrium, without exerting energy. Due to the unique nature of the phospholipid bilayer, small molecules can pass through the semipermeable membrane easily, through diffusion (https://www.biologycorner.com). Water, however, has a slightly more difficult time diffusing, and diffuses in a different way, called osmosis. Osmosis involves aquaporins, specialized proteins in the phospholipid bilayer, to facilitate the diffusion of water across the gradient to reach equilibrium. Water potential, or the measure of potential energy that water has, is determined by solute concentration and pressure (https://www.boundless.com/biology/textbooks). The formula for water potential is as follows: ψ = ψP + ψS, where ψP equals pressure potential and where ψS equals solute potential (-iCRT). Cells need a small size so that they can have an equal …show more content…
The first experiment involved agar cubes, each with a different surface area, to measure how surface area affects the rate of diffusion. In this experiment, the constants included 2% agar containing the pH indicator dye phenolphthalein, 1% phenolphthalein solution, 0.1M NaOH, 0.1M HCl, squares of hard, thin plastic (from disposable plates); unserrated knives; or scalpels from dissection kits, metric rulers, petri dishes or test tubes to hold the agar cubes. For the independent variable, the cubes were cut into different sizes to model different surface areas. Thus, the dependant variable was the rate of diffusion into the cell. For a control, an uncut agar cube was used. Two separate agar cubes were cut to serve as the experimental