Abstract The purpose of this experiment was to test the processes of osmosis and diffusion in an artificial system as well as in living cells. Part one of this experiment required filling dialysis bags with starch and sodium sulfate (Na2SO4), and then being placed in a beaker of albumin/glucose solution. The dialysis bag is used to simulate an artificial cell membrane, and used to test whether molecular weight has an effect on the rate of diffusion into and out of the cell or not. The second part of this lab used potatoes to test whether or not the concentration of substances in a system would affect the rate of osmosis. The potato in distilled water had the largest percent change in mass at 11.9%. This means that the water entered the potato. However, when 1M sucrose was added to the potato there was the largest negative percent change in mass at -25.32%. This means that water was lost as it was dipped in the solute. The results of the potatoes demonstrated that sucrose concentrations do have an effect on the diffusion and osmosis rates of living organisms. Introduction The purpose of this lab was to observe the processes of osmosis and diffusion in an artificial system and in living organisms. Dialysis bags acted as …show more content…
Molecules will have the tendency to flow down a concentration gradient when kinetic energy is released. Diffusion is a spontaneous process, which means it requires no energy. During diffusion the molecules move from an area of higher concentration to an area of lower concentration. Water is similar to molecules when it comes to diffusion in the rules that it follows. This means that it too will move from an area of higher concentration t an area of lower concentration. The main difference between the movement of water and the movement of molecules in diffusion is the size of molecules. If molecules are too big they are unable to diffuse