Osmosis Permeable Membrane Lab Page 1

Osmosis Permeable Membrane Lab

Kayleigh Robic
Honors Biology Period Three
Cardinal Wuerl North Catholic High School
4/30/18
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Introduction:

Passive Transport is the movement of molecules and particles across cell membranes.

Passive Transport does not require extra energy for the actions to be completed. Selective

permeability in a cell membrane means that only certain molecules or ions can pass through the

cell membrane. To be selectively permeable means that particles can only pass through when

they are a certain size, are a certain molecule, or a certain chemical messenger is present

(Biology Online Dictionary, 2017).

Osmosis is the process when water molecules move across a cell membrane from a high

concentration to a low concentration, until equilibrium is reached (Editors of Encyclopedia

Britannica, 1998). Osmotic environments are solutions that cells are placed in that cause

osmosis. There are three osmotic environments, hypotonic environments, isotonic environments,

and hypertonic environments. Hypotonic environments occur when a cell has less water inside of

it than outside of it. While there is always a natural small flow of water and solutes out of the

cell, in a hypotonic environment the water from outside of the cell diffuses inside of it faster than

water and solutes leave the cell. This results in the cell swelling from the increased water

entering it. In extreme cases, the hypotonic environment will burst the cell (Biology Online

Dictionary, 2017). An isotonic environment means that the cell and its surrounding environment

are in equilibrium. The quantity of solutes and pure water in and out of the cell is equal, as is the

flow of water through the cell membrane. A hypertonic environment occurs when there is a

higher concentration of pure water inside of a cell compared to outside of it. When a cell is in

this environment, the water molecules inside of the cell diffuse out of it. The rapid movement of

pure water out of the cell can cause the cell to shrivel (Biology Online Dictionary, 2017).

Learning about the different osmotic environments is important because it can be dangerous
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when a human’s cells are placed in them. For example, after a marathon if an athlete only drinks

water and does not replace the solutes lost from sweating, then the athlete’s cells would be

placed in a hypotonic environment. The influx of water into the athlete’s cells to replenish the

water lost during the race would not be equal to the low amounts of solutes in the cell. This

would allow excess water to enter the cell, which could lead to the cell bursting. Knowing about

the dangers of hypotonic and hypertonic solutions could prevent this and other scenarios from

happening to ourselves and others.

Dialysis tubing is a kind of tubing that mimics selectively permeable membranes. It is

used in labs to demonstrate diffusion and separate different substances from one another. One of

this lab’s purposes was to allow students to use dialysis tubing and gain experience working with

it and with imitating permeable membranes. Another purpose was to show how permeable

membranes worked in a large-scale model, and how only some substances can pass through

them. A third purpose was to show the flow of water through membranes, and to show how the

change in weights in the simulated cells changed through the experiment.

For the first part of the lab Beaker 1: Water in Water, which was 5 mL of pure water in

200 mL of pure water, represented an isotonic environment. Beaker 2: 20% in Water, which is 5

mL of a 20% glucose solution in 200 mL of pure water, Beaker 3: 40% in Water, which is 5 mL

of a 40% glucose solution in 200 mL of pure water, Beaker 4: 60% in Water, which is 5 mL of a

60% glucose solution in 200 mL of pure water, and Beaker 6: 80% in 60%, which was 5 mL of

an 80% glucose solution in 200 mL of 60% glucose solution, represented a hypotonic

environment. Beaker 5: Water in 60%, which is 5 mL of pure water in 200 mL of 60% glucose

solution, represented a hypertonic environment. In part two of the lab, the set up was a beaker
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filled with 200 mL of pure water, 10 drops of Iodine, and dialysis tubing filled with 5 mL of

starch (Osmosis Lab Packet).

For part one of the lab the Independent Variable was the different solutions that were

placed into the dialysis tubing and the solutions that were placed into the beakers. The

Dependent Variable was the changes in weights at the different time intervals. For the second

part of the lab the Independent Variable was the starch in the dialysis tubing, the water it was

placed in, and the Iodine placed into the water. The Dependent Variable for part two of the lab

was the change in color in the beaker. In part one of the lab the constants were the time intervals

when the dialysis tubing was checked, the amount of solution inside of the dialysis tubing, and

the amount of solution that was placed into the beakers (Helmenstine, 2018). Part one’s control

group was the first beaker, with Water in Water. The other five beakers, 20% in Water, 40% in

Water, 60% in Water, Water in 60%, and 80% in 60%, were the experimental groups. For part

two of the lab, there were no constants or control groups, because there was only one beaker

used in the experiment. This beaker was the experimental group (Osmosis Lab Packet). For part

one, there were six hypotheses. If you place dialysis tubing filled with 5 mL of pure water into

200 mL of pure water, then the dialysis tubing will stay the same mass. If you place dialysis

tubing filled with 5 mL of 20% glucose solution into 200 mL of pure water, then the dialysis

tubing will increase in mass. If you place dialysis tubing filled with 5 mL of 40% glucose

solution into 200 mL of pure water, then the dialysis tubing will increase in mass. If you place

dialysis tubing filled with 5 mL of 60% glucose solution into 200 mL of pure water, then the

dialysis tubing will increase in mass. If you place dialysis tubing filled with 5 mL of pure water

into 200 mL of 60% glucose solution, then the dialysis tubing will decrease in mass. If you place

dialysis tubing filled with 5 mL of 80% glucose solution into 200 mL of 60% glucose solution,
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then the dialysis tubing will increase in mass. For part two of the lab, there was only one

hypotheses. If you place dialysis tubing with 5 mL of starch into 200 mL of water with 10 drops

of Iodine, then the starch inside of the dialysis tubing will turn blue (Osmosis Lab Packet).

Materials:

Part 1:

 6 Beakers

 20% Glucose Solution

 40% Glucose Solution

 60% Glucose Solution

 80% Glucose Solution

 Scale

 Pipets

 6 Strips of Dialysis Tubing

 String

 Paper Towels

 Water

Part 2:

 One Beaker

 Iodine

 One Strip of Dialysis Tubing

 Water

 5 mL of Starch

 Pipet
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Procedures:

Part 1:

1. Students should gather all materials and make all hypotheses.

2. Take six strips of dialysis tubing and tie them off at one end with a piece of string.

3. Take one of the tied-off dialysis tubing strips and use a pipet to fill it with 5 mL of pure

water. Repeat step 3 five more times, with 20% glucose solution, 40% glucose solution,

60% glucose solution, 80% glucose solution, and pure water.

4. Tie each of the filled dialysis tubing off with string.

5. Fill five beakers with 200 mL of water.

6. Fill the sixth beaker with 200 mL of 60% glucose solution.

7. Place the dialysis tubing with pure water (both), 20% glucose solution, 40% glucose

solution, and 60% glucose solution in separate beakers filled with water. Place the

dialysis tubing with 80% glucose solution into the beaker with 60% glucose solution.

8. Log the dialysis tubing’s initial weight at the time interval of zero minutes as zero grams.

9. Set a timer for three minutes.

10. After the timer ends, take all of the dialysis tubing out of the beakers and dry them off

with paper towels.

11. Measure the weight of each of the six dialysis tubing and record.

12. Place all six of the dialysis tubing back into their corresponding beakers

13. Set a timer for three minutes.

14. After the timer ends, take all of the dialysis tubing out of the beakers and dry them off

with paper towels.

15. Measure the weight of each of the six dialysis tubing and record.
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16. Place all six of the dialysis tubing back into their corresponding beakers

17. Set a timer for three minutes.

18. After the timer ends, take all of the dialysis tubing out of the beakers and dry them off

with paper towels.

19. Measure the weight of each of the six dialysis tubing and record the final weight.

Part 2:

1. Students should gather all materials and make all hypotheses.

2. Fill one strip of dialysis tubing with 5 mL of starch.

3. Fill one beaker with 200 mL of pure water.

4. Place the dialysis tubing into the water.

5. Use a pipet to drop 10 drops of dialysis tubing into the beaker.

6. Wait and check to see the color of the water and starch, record results.

(Osmosis Lab Packet)

Results:

The results of part one are represented in Table 1 and Figure 1 below. At the first time

interval, zero minutes, all six of the beakers had a mass of zero grams. Beaker 1: Water in Water,

which is 5 mL of pure water in 200 mL of pure water had a mass change of .208 grams from 0-3

minutes, a mass change of .291 grams from 3-6 minutes, and a mass change of .249 grams from

6-9 minutes. The mass of Beaker 1 increases slightly over time, as seen in Figure 1. Beaker 2:

20% in Water, which is 5 mL of a 20% glucose solution in 200 mL of pure water, had a mass

change of .317 grams from 0-3 minutes, a mass change of .534 grams from 3-6 minutes, and a

mass change of .701 grams from 6-9 minutes. Table 1 shows Beaker 2’s increase gradually over

the time intervals. Beaker 3: 40% in Water, which is 5 mL of a 40% glucose solution in 200 mL
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of pure water, had a mass change of .408 grams from 0-3 minutes, a mass change of .800 grams

from 3-6 minutes and a mass change of 1.108 grams from 6-9 minutes. Beaker 3’s mass

increases over time, as seen in Figure 1. Beaker 4: 60% in Water, which is 5 mL of a 60%

glucose solution in 200 mL of pure water had a mass change of .567 grams from 0-3 minutes, a

mass change of 1.009 grams from 3-6 minutes, and a mass change of 1.409 grams from 6-9

minutes. Figure 1 shows Beaker 4’s continual mass increase over the time intervals. Beaker 5:

Water in 60%, which is 5 mL of pure water in 200 mL of a 60% glucose solution had a mass

change of -.150 grams from 0-3 minutes, a mass change of -.533 grams from 3-6 minutes, and a

final mass change of -.783 grams from 6-9 minutes. Beaker 5 had a consistent decrease in mass,

as seen in Table 1. Beaker 6: 80% in 60%, which was 5 mL of an 80% glucose solution in 200

mL of a 60% glucose solution had a mass change of .240 grams from 0-3 minutes, a mass change

of .316 grams from 3-6 minutes, and a final mass change of .399 grams from 6-8 minutes. Figure

1 shows the increase in mass of Beaker 6 throughout the lab.

Table 1:

Time Water in Water 20 % in Water 40% in Water 60% in Water Water in 60% 80% in 60%
0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000
3.000 0.208 0.317 0.408 0.567 -0.150 0.241
6.000 0.291 0.534 0.800 1.009 -0.533 0.316
9.000 0.249 0.701 1.108 1.409 -0.783 0.399

Description: This table contains the numerical results for the first part of the lab. The
timings come from the time intervals when the dialysis tubing was checked. The titles, ex:
“Water in Water”, come from the solutions in the dialysis tubing and the solution in the beaker
that the corresponding dialysis tubing was in. The numbers come from the weights taken at each
time interval. The class averages were the same because the original number is used for the first
time interval. For the following time intervals, the averages of the succeeding numbers were
taken and then either subtracted or added to the original number.
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Mass vs. Time

2.000

1.500

Water in Water
1.000
20 % in Water
Mass (g)

0.500 40% in Water

60% in Water
0.000
Water in 60%
0.000 3.000 6.000 9.000
80% in 60%
-0.500

-1.000
Time (Minutes)

Figure 1:
Description: This graph contains the outcomes of part one of the lab. It shows the
comparison between the six series. These six series each represent a column on Table 1, starting
with “Water in Water”, which is represented in red on Figure 1.

Part two’s results were that the beaker, filled with 200 mL of pure water and 10 drops of

Iodine, did not turn blue while the 5 mL of starch inside dialysis tubing inside of the beaker, did

turn blue.

Discussion:

For part one of the lab, only four out of the six bags in the six beakers gained more than

.2 grams of weight. This is because in the four that did gain weight, Beaker 2: 20% in Water,

Beaker 3: 40% in Water, Beaker 4: 60% in Water, and Beaker 6: 80% in 60%, all had a higher

concentration of pure water outside of the dialysis tubing. Because of this, these beakers were in

hypotonic environments. These hypotonic environments lead to the dialysis tubing to fill up with

water, thus increasing their weight. Beaker 5: Water in 60%, however, was in a hypertonic

environment. Because of the higher concentration of pure water inside of the dialysis tubing, the

water flowed out of the tubing, decreasing its weight. Beaker 1: Water in Water was in an
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isotonic environment because of the equal concentrations of pure water in and out of the dialysis

tubing. The weight changed minutely because of the constant, but small, flow of pure water

outside of the dialysis tubing. As the dialysis tubing and beaker got closer to equilibrium the

increase or decrease of pure water in the dialysis tubing slowed down. This is evident in Beaker

3: 40% in Water. In Beaker 3, the mass doubles from 3-6 minutes, but only increases by

approximately .3 grams from 6-9 minutes. When there is a higher concentration gradient the rate

of osmosis increases as compared to a lower concentration gradient. Beaker 6: 80% in 60% did

not gain as much weight as Beaker 2: 20% in Water from 0-3 minutes because there is more pure

water in Beaker 2 than in Beaker 6. The higher concentration of pure water in Beaker 2 allowed

it to increase its mass faster than Beaker 6, though the mass increase in both slowed down as

time went on because the dialysis tubing and beakers were getting closer to equilibrium.

In part two of the lab the starch inside of the dialysis tubing turned blue because of the

Iodine drops in the beaker. The starch turned blue because of the chemical reaction that takes

place between starch and Iodine. The starch turned blue inside of the dialysis tubing rather than

in the water outside of it because while the dialysis tubing was permeable to water and Iodine, it

was not permeable to starch. The lab had four errors to it. The first was the mixing of solutions.

When the dialysis tubing in the first part of the lab was filled with each solution, it is possible

that the pipets used to distribute the solution to each dialysis tube was cross-contaminated with

another solution. The second error would be that when weighing the dialysis tubing, not all of the

water or solution from the beakers was rinsed off, which would have added weight to the scale.

The third error was that the dialysis tubing was only timed and weighed for nine minutes. The

dialysis tubing never reached equilibrium, which would have taken at least 30 minutes. The final

error was in the second part of the lab. There was no control group for this part of the lab, which
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does not allow for any comparisons to be made about the result of the lab. One way to improve

the lab would be to allow for more increments of time in the first part of the lab. Ideally, the

dialysis tubing would be weighed for 40 minutes, or until they reached equilibrium.

References:

Biology Online Dictionary. (2018, April 29). Biology Online Dictionary. Retrieved from Biology

Online Dictionary: https://www.biology-online.org/dictionary/

Helmenstine, Todd. (2018, February 23). Independent vs Dependent Variables. Retrieved from

ThoughtCo.: https://www.thoughtco.com/independent-and-dependent-variables-

differences-606115

Osmosis Lab Packet

The Editors of Encyclopedia Britannica. (1998, July 20). Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved

from Encyclopedia Britannica: https://www.britannica.com/science/osmosis