Osmosis And Diffusion Lab Report

Diffusion is the movement of molecules through the phospholipid bilayer from a higher concentration of solute to a lower concentration of solute. Osmosis is the movement of water molecules through the phospholipid bilayer. The phospholipids in the bilayer, or cell membrane, have polar and heads and non-polar tails. This allows non-polar, or hydrophobic, substances to pass easily through the cell membrane. Water molecules are polar, and use proteins to help transfer the molecules through the non-polar cell membrane. Osmosis and diffusion are important because the cell gains nutrients by way of particles moving through the cell membrane. Particles detrimental to the cell are also kept out of the cell because of the cell membrane. Diffusion helps identify what should and should not travel into the cell. In regards to osmosis and the diffusion of water, there can be three outcomes; an isotonic solution, hypertonic solution, or a hypotonic solution. In an isotonic solution, the amount of water and the amount of solutes outside of the cell is the same. In a hypertonic solution, the amount of solutes outside of the cell is greater than the amount of water. In a hypotonic solution, the amount of solutes outside of the cell is less than the amount of water. Could describing the

For an experiment I would first place a piece of celery in an isotonic solution. I would place another piece of celery in a hypertonic solution, and a third piece of celery in a hypotonic solution. I would leave each piece of celery in its respective solution for one day. After the one day I would slice the celery thin enough to put on a microscope slide. I would then look at the slide through a microscope. I would do this for each celery stalk in each solution. I would look at the shape of the cells after being submerged in their solutions for a