Osmosis Flashcards
What is osmosis?
It is the movement of water molecules across a partially permeable membrane from a region of higher water concentration to a region of lower water concentration.
What is a partially permeable membrane?
It is a membrane with one with very small holes in it - only tiny molecules like water can pass through them.
What is the experiment used to show osmosis?
1) Cut up a potato into identical cylinders, and get beakers with and get some beakers with different sugar solutions in them. One should be pure water and the other is a very concentrated sugar solution. Then you can have a few others with concentrations in between them.
2) Measure the mass of the cylinders then leave a cylinder in each beaker for a day.
3) After, you take it out dry them with a paper towel and measure their masses again.
4) If the cylinders have been drawn in water by osmosis they is an increase in mass. If water has been drawn out there is a decrease in mass. Calculate the % change in mass then plot a few graphs.
