Egg Diffusion Lab

      In the egg diffusion lab, we tested how osmosis in different solutions of water would affect the cell. Using eggs to represent cells, we submerged them in corn syrup and deionized water, and recorded the circumference and mass of the eggs before and after the submersion. Overall, the eggs in the sugar water decreased in mass about 46.1%, and decreased in circumference about 22.1%. This was caused by the presence of a hypertonic solution, as the high concentration of solute (sugar) led to water diffusing out of the egg to decrease its mass and circumference.

Class data tables for deionized and sugar water

      A cell attempts to maintain equilibrium, and thus water diffuses in or out of the cell when the solute concentration changes due to the solute molecules being to large to diffuse through the cell membrane. For example, when the egg was in the vinegar bath, the tonicity was hypertonic, and thus water left the cell. When the egg was submerged in water, the tonicity was hypotonic, and so water entered the cell. Lastly, putting the egg in sugar water made the tonicity hypertonic again, causing water to diffuse out of the cell once more.
      This lab demonstrates the law of diffusion that occurs naturally: substances diffuse from areas of high concentration to low concentration. Also, when solutes are unable to diffuse through a membrane, water instead diffuses in the process of osmosis. The different solutions that the egg was exposed to showed the diffusion of water to maintain equilibrium, including solutions that were hypertonic or hypotonic.
      The sprinkling of water on vegetables prevents the diffusion of water out of the vegetables, and even leads to some water diffusing in due to the hypotonic nature. This preserves the "freshness" of the vegetables keeping them hydrated. In addition, the salting of roads to lower the melting point of ice can adversely affect plants nearby to put out water (and shrivel) due to the hypertonic solution of salt in the water.
      After this experiment, I would want to further explore the osmosis of water in cells by testing an extremely hypotonic solution. The opposite of the hypertonic solution, I would want to see if cells might swell and possibly pop due to having too low of solute concentration in the solution outside (like water in bloodstream).