Factors Affecting the Rate of Osmosis I. Research Question: How does the amount of Monosodium glutamate or MSG (C5H8NO4Na) concentration affect the osmosislarity of cow (Bos taurus ) liver cells? II. Background information Osmosis is the diffusion of water molecules through a partially permeable membrane from a region of high water concentration to a region of low water concentration. The factors affecting the rate of osmosis are temperature, concentration gradient, molecular size, surface area to volume ratio, and permeability. Animal liver cells, such as cow liver cells have a nucleus, cytoplasm, and a cell membrane. The nucleus contains the DNA, genetic material that controls the cell. The cytoplasm is where the processes take place and are controlled by enzymes. The …show more content…
Though I will be experimenting on cow liver cells for ethical reasons and because both are animal cells. Experimenting on cow liver cells, I can assume that the results would be similar if done on human liver cells. To learn how dangerous Monosodium glutamate can be to our body, I plan to use this experiment to see the effects of Monosodium glutamate on cow liver cells, and reflect how it may also affect human liver cells. III. Hypothesis When there is a gradient of high water concentration to low water concentration, the water molecules will move faster, and when there is a gradient of low water concentration to high water concentration, the water molecules will move slower, therefore, the rate of osmosis will be faster the water concentration is from high gradient to low gradient. My hypothesis is as the concentration of Monosodium glutamate increase, the mass of the liver cell also increases. This is because of osmosis and how the liver cell submerged in the solution allows Monosodium glutamate to pass to the permeable layer of the liver cell. IV. Variables Types of Variable Measurement How to