It is difficult to see osmosis occurring in cells because of the small size of the cell. However, there are a few cells that can be seen without the aid of a microscope. Try this activity to see how osmosis occurs in a large cell.
Problem: How does osmosis occur in an egg cell?
Materials
Day 1
____ Place the egg into the 500 ml beaker. Pour 250 ml of vinegar over the egg. Cover the beaker
____ After 30 minutes, record your observations in the data table
____ Let stand for two days
Day 2
____ Record the appearance of the egg in the data table.
____ Carefully pour the vinegar into a graduated cylinder, record the amount you now have in the data table.
____ Rinse the egg off and pour 250 ml of the corn syrup over the egg and cover. Let stand for two days.
Day 5
____ Record the appearance of the egg in the data table.
____ Carefully pour the corn syrup into a graduated cylinder. Record the amount in the data table.
____ Rinse off the egg and pour 250 ml of water over the egg. Cover and let stand for two days.
Day 7
____ Record the appearance of the egg in the data table
____ Carefully pour the water into a graduated cylinder and record the amount in the data table.
____ Dispose of your egg.
Record the amount of liquid in the beaker in ml | Observations | |
Day 1 | ||
Day 3 | ||
Day 5 | ||
Day 7 |
1. Describe what happened to the egg after it soaked in vinegar.
2. Describe what happened to the egg after it soaked in corn syrup.
3. How does OSMOSIS explain these observations.