Susanna Miller, Joud Al Jeeran, Layan Ismaeel

Osmosis Lab Potatoes

Background:

Osmosis is a filtering process in which water passes through a semi-permeable membrane,

starting from an area of low concentration into higher concentration. (Byju’s Biology) This
process is essential for balancing solute concentrations on either side of the membrane, allowing
the membrane to maintain homeostasis as well as proper cellular function.

Osmosis plays a crucial role in how potatoes manage their water intake. By doing this, the root
cells stay in contact with the surrounding soil and produce a highly concentrated environment—
often by absorbing salts. Only water can pass through the semipermeable membranes that make
up the cell walls of the root cells. Osmosis forces water to enter the root cells since the water
outside of them usually contains less salt. After the cells are filled with water, the water can be
distributed throughout the potato plant. Osmosis, however, can function both ways, depending
upon the surrounding conditions. Water will flow out of a potato's cells to make up for the
concentration difference if it is immersed in water that has more salt in it than inside. As a result,
the cells contract, which dehydrates the plant and may even kill it.

Research Question:

How does the concentrated saline solution impact the length (in cm) of potatoes?

Hypothesis:

If potato slices are placed in salt solutions of increasing concentrations (0g, 1g, 5g, 10g, 15g),
then the length (in cm) of the potato slices will decrease. This is due to the salt solution being
hypertonic compared to that of the inside of the potato.

Materials:

- Fresh potatoes (1)

- Salt (0g, 1g, 5g, 10g, 15g)
- Distilled water (150ml for each beaker)
- Five Beakers (250 ml)
- 1 Scale
- 1 scalpel
- 1 Ruler
- Two Graduated Cylinders
- 1 Pencil
Method:

1. 3cm length of a potato was measured and marked 0cm and 3cm with a pencil
2. The potatoes were peeled with a scalpel, cutting at the 0cm mark and finish cutting at the
3cm mark. The potato was peeled five times so that there was a potato slice for each
solution.
3. Five 250ml beakers were prepared and, using a scale to measure, following amounts were
poured into each beaker:
a. 0g of salt (to act as a control)
b. 1g of salt
c. 5g of salt
d. 10g of salt
e. 15g of salt
4. 150ml of distilled water was poured into each beaker, with a graduated cylinder being
used to measure the volume of the water.
5. Using a stir stick, each solution was stirred until the salt was completely dissolved.
6. One slice of potato was placed into each beaker, with each slice being fully submerged in
water.
7. At the same time as the slices of potatoes are being placed in the beakers, a timer was
started on a phone for 20 minutes.
8. After 20 minutes, the potatoes were carefully taken out of the solutions and measured
using a ruler.

Variables:

Independent Variable:

The independent variable is the concentration of salt in each beaker of water. The concentration
of salt is going to be measured using a graduated cylinder. The salt will be poured into the beaker
post the water being poured in.

Dependent Variable:
The dependent variable is the mass of the potatoes after being in the solution for 20
minutes. Because there will be a change in the mass of the potatoes, the initial mass must be
measured first to compare.

Controlled Variables:

Controlled Variable How it’s Controlled Purpose

Volume of Water Each of the five beakers will If the volume of water varies,
have 150ml of water. We the concentration of the
plan on measuring the solution will vary as well,
amount of water with a leading to inaccurate results.
graduated cylinder.
 Initial mass of Potato Slices Using a scalpel, slices of To guarantee the mass of the
potato will be cut into lengths potato is accurately
of 3cm measured, the surface area of
the potato must stay the same
length across every solution.
Time in the solution Using phones, a timer will be To ensure that the results are
set for 20 minutes. Potato accurate, the length of time
slices will be placed in the the potato slices are in the
solution all at once. solution must be equal. The
longer the potato is in the
solution, the greater the
change in mass of the potato
will be as osmosis has more
time to take place.
Size of Beaker All five beakers will be Changes in surface area
250ml. might impact how the potato
reacts to the solution and the
overall process of osmosis.
Keeping the size of the
beaker the same would ensure
the results are accurate.

Results: Raw Data

Title: Length of Potato Slices Before and After (in cm)

Trial 1:

Salt Concentration Length Before (cm) Length After (cm)

(g)
0 3 3.1
1 3 2.9
5 3 2.5
10 3 2.1
15 3 1.7
Table 1: Trial one table showing the lengths of potato slices before and after being submerged in
various salt solutions.

Trial 2:

Salt Concentration Length Before (cm) Length After (cm)

(g)
0 3 3.0
1 3 2.8
5 3 2.4
10 3 2.0
 15 3 1.5
Table 2: Trial two table showing the lengths of potato slices before and after being submerged in
various salt solutions.

Trial 3:

Salt Concentration Length Before (cm) Length After (cm)

(g)
0 3 3.1
1 3 2.7
5 3 2.1
10 3 1.9
15 3 1.4
Table 3: Trial three table showing the lengths of potato slices before and after being submerged
in various salt solutions.

Results: Processed Data

Title: Difference in Length of Potato (in cm)

Salt Trial 1 Trial 2 Trial 3

Concentrations
(g)
0 +0.1 No change +0.1
1 -0.1 -0.2 -0.3
5 -0.5 -0.6 -0.9
10 -0.9 -1.0 -1.1
15 -1.3 -1.5 -1.6
Table 4: Table showing the difference in length of potato slices before and after being
submerged in salt solutions.

Title: Average and

Salt Trial 1 Trial 2 Trial 3 Average Standard Error Bars

Concentrati Length (cm Deviation (rounded to
ons (g) rounded to (rounded to nearest
the nearest nearest hundredth)
tenth) hundredth)
0 3.1 3.0 3.1 3.1 0.06 0.04
1 2.9 2.8 2.7 2.8 0.10 0.06
5 2.5 2.4 2.1 2.3 0.21 0.12
10 2.1 2.0 1.9 2.0 0.10 0.06
15 1.7 1.5 1.4 1.5 0.16 0.09
 Table 5: Table showing the average change in potato length, as well as the standard deviation
and the error bars of the data

Calculations:

Average Length:

Insert pic of calculations + formula

Standard Deviation:

Insert pic of calculations + formula

Error Bars:

Insert pic of calculations + formula

Observations:

As the salt concentration in solutions increased, the length of potato slices decreased. In trial 1,
the lengths recorded post-immersion in the solution exhibited a distinct trend. The length of the
potato slice remained relatively stable at 3.1cm, just increasing by +0.1cm between being placed
in the solution and being taken out of the solution. However, because of the salt concentration
increasing in the solutions, the length of potatoes decreased as seen in the solution with 1g of
salt. At 1g salt, the length marginally decreased to 2.9 cm. The following concentrations revealed
an escalating loss in length: at 5 g Salt, the length reduced to 2.5cm , then to 2.1 cm at 10g salt,
and finally reached 1.7 cm at 15g salt. The data represents a cumulative length reduction of -
1.3cm at the highest concentration of salt, highlighting a significant mass loss in the potato
slices.

The observations in Trial 2 mirrored those of Trial 1. The initial length remained at 3 cm
across all samples, to ensure that the findings of the experiment were valid. In trial 2, the control
slice measured 3.0 with no change between the initial length of the potato slice and the length
after the potato slice was taken out, different from Trial 1 with the control slice measured as
3.1cm. The length gradually decreased with increasing salt concentrations: at 1g salt, the length
dropped to 2.8 cm, at 5g salt, it was recorded at 2.4 cm, further reduction to 2.0 cm was observed
at 10g salt, and by 15g salt, the length had decreased to 1.9 cm, exhibiting a total reduction of
1.5cm between the initial length and the length after.
In Trial 3, the length of the potato slices (in cm), once again, had a negative trend. The
length after exposure to the control solution (0g) was 3.1cm for the control group, similar to that
of the first trial. The final recorded lengths were 2.7cm at 1g salt, 2.1cm at 5g salt, 1.9cm at 10g
salt, and 1.4cm at 15g salt. The notable length loss reached 1.6 cm in this trial.
The processed data combines the findings from all trials. From table 4 we can observe the
difference between a higher concentration of salt and how it correlates with an increased loss of
length. The highest length loss was consistently observed at the 15g concentration across all
trials, with reductions of 1.3cm, 1.5 cm, and 1.6cm.
Discussion:
The results from this experiment provided significant insights into the effects of varying
salt concentrations on the length of potato slices. The observed decrease in length as salt
concentration increased was consistent with the principles of osmosis, where water molecules
move from an area of lower solute concentration to an area of higher solute concentration
through a selectively permeable membrane. This validates the hypothesis that higher
concentrations of salt would result in greater mass loss in potato slices as water is drawn out of
the cells to balance the solute concentrations.
The data from the three trials clearly indicate a trend of decreasing potato slice length
with increasing concentrations of salt. For instance, at 0 g Salt, the lengths were nearly
unchanged or slightly increased due to osmotic pressure on the cell walls; at the highest
concentration of 15 g Salt, the potato slices experienced a significant shrinkage, with average
lengths diminishing from 3 cm to 1.5 cm across all trials. This outcome illustrates the osmotic
balance process occurring within the potato cells, where, at higher salt concentrations, the
external solution's solute concentration is greater than that inside the potato cells, prompting
water to move out and causing dehydration of the potato tissue.
The variances observed across the trials, with lengths slightly varying at 1 g and 5 g Salt,
could be attributed to the natural inconsistencies between potato slices, such as differences in cell
structure and water content. These inconsistencies highlight an important point in biological
experiments—while systematic trends can be observed, biological tissues are inherently variable,
which can lead to fluctuations in results.
If the ruler used to measure the lengths of the potato slices was not calibrated correctly, it
may consistently yield readings that are off by a certain degree. For instance, if the ruler used
was not marked accurately (such as if it started at a slight offset), this could produce systematic
errors in length measurements. The preparations of the salt solutions could have introduced
systematic errors if the measurements were not exact. If either too much or too little salt was
added consistently across samples, this would skew results by altering the expected osmotic
gradients. Variability in environmental conditions such as temperature and humidity during the
trials could also lead to systematic errors. If the temperature of the room varied significantly
during trials, it could affect the rate of osmosis due to temperature’s effect on diffusion
processes.
Random errors could arise from the precision limitations of measuring the length of
potato slices. For example, when measuring lengths, slight variances could occur due to the
angle of viewing or human error in reading the ruler. Variations in the potato slices themselves,
such as differences in thickness and water content, would result in unpredictable fluctuations in
the mass loss experienced by different slices, contributing to random error in the data. Even
though the mass and thickness of the potato slices weren’t measured, the change may affect
individual readings. Thankfully, overall trend observed regarding the influence of salt
concentration on potato mass loss remained clear, indicating the reliability of the findings.
Future studies could explore several avenues to enhance understanding of osmotic
processes in plant tissues. One possibility includes investigating other carbohydrate sources, such
as sweet potatoes or different varieties of potatoes, to compare osmosis rates across different
cellular structures. Furthermore, it may be beneficial to perform similar experiments using a
wider range of salt concentrations to discern whether a saturation point exists where no further
mass loss occurs. Another area of exploration could involve assessing how time of exposure to
salt influence length loss. By conducting trials at various time intervals, researchers could
determine whether a plateau occurs in length loss at higher concentrations, adding depth to the
comprehension of osmotic dynamics. This experiment successfully demonstrated the effects of
salt concentration on potato slice length, showcasing the principles of osmosis in a clear and
replicable manner. The systematic and random errors identified offer valuable lessons for
improving research designs in future experiments. As osmosis plays a crucial role in plant
physiology, further investigations could expand this knowledge, providing a better understanding
of how salinity affects water regulation in plants under various environmental conditions.
MLA 9 Citations:
Admin. “What Is Osmosis? - Definition, Types, Osmotic Pressure.” BYJUS, BYJU’S, 2 July
2024, byjus.com/biology/osmosis/.

Buddies, Science, and Svenja Lohner. “Make a Potato Shrink--with Saltwater.” Scientific
American, Scientific American, 20 Feb. 2024, www.scientificamerican.com/article/make-
a-potato-shrink-with-saltwater/#:~:text=The%20shrinking%20and%20expanding
%20of,more%20salts%20and%20less%20water).