Comparative Cell Membranes and Transport Lab
Hannah Barlow
Introduction: Today we will be doing experiments on diffusion, osmosis, and transport. Diffusion is the tendency of molecules to spread into an available space, without other outside forces at work, substances will diffuse from a more concentrated environment to a less concentrated environment (Bailey). The rate diffusion happens, is dependent on membrane permeability. The plasma membrane is a barrier in which substances must in order to exit or enter into the cell. This is present in all living beings. It acts as a selective doorway (Hands-On Labs). The plasma membrane and two layers of phospholipids and each one has a polar head and a nonpolar tail. This makes it able to be selective to what comes in and out. Only molecules with certain characteristics’ are able to through the membrane while others are blocked (Hands-On Labs). Transporter Proteins are power active movement of molecules into and out of the cell (Hands-On Labs). The proteins that bind chemicals together in fluid to detect chemical levels are receptor proteins, and when a reaction is started, enzymes are present. A ive transport is when the transport or distribution of molecules requires no work or energy. This means all molecules are distributed evenly on the sides of the cell membrane. This is called equilibrium. According to our Hands-on Lab, when an active transport occurs, molecules and ions are able to travel from an area of lesser concentration to an area of greater concentration. Active transport is a process which requires energy in the form of ATP. One kind of diffusion is osmosis. Osmosis is the diffusion of water across a selectively permeable membrane (Hands-On Labs). Water will create equilibrium, so this requires water to move from a higher concentration, to a lower concentration. Hands-On Labs says, “Osmosis in cells results in three primary cell states, all related to solute concentration inside versus outside the cell: hypertonic, isotonic, or hypotonic. In a hypertonic solution (hypermeaning “over” and tonic meaning “tone”), the concentration of solutes outside the cell is greater than inside the cell and water diffuses out of the cell. In a hypotonic solution (hypo- meaning “under”), the concentration of solutes inside the cell is greater than outside the cell and water diffuses into the cell. In an isotonic solution (iso- meaning “same”), the concentration of solutes inside the cell equals the concentration of solutes outside the cell and water does not diffuse.”
When demonstrating osmosis in the experiment, I believe the potato will be heavier at the end of the incubating period. I think with the larger amounts of sugar and water mixed, it will cause it to gain weight. When demonstrating diffusion, I believe the crystals will diffuse at a faster rate in the hot water. In the diffusion across the membrane experiment takes place, I believe the dialysis tubing will turn black or a similar color due to the starch.
Materials and Methods: Hands-On Labs Student Supplied Materials
Hands-On Lab Supplied Materials
Plant Cells and Osmosis: (Hands-On Labs) Day 1: 1. Use a marker to label six test tubes a-f.
2. Place 100 mL beaker on the scale and zero the scale. 3. Add 17.1 g of sugar in the beaker. 4. Measure 50 mL of distilled water with a graduated cylinder. Add water into the beaker slowly. Stir with the glass rod until it dissolves. 5. Use a marker to label a short stem pipet “DW”. This will be used for the distilled water. 6. Create and set up test tubes. a. Distilled water solution: Measure 5mL of distilled water. Pour it into corresponding test tube. b. 0.2M sucrose solution: Measure 1mL of the sucrose solution. Use to “DW” pipet to add 4mL of distilled water to the graduated cylinder. Put solution into test tube b. c. 0.4 sucrose solution: Measure 2mL of sucrose solution into the graduated cylinder. Use the DW pipet to add 3mL of distilled water into the graduated cylinder. Add to test tube C. d. 0.6 sucrose solution: Measure 3mL of sucrose into the graduated cylinder. Add 2mL of distilled water to the cylinder. Add solution into test tube D. e. 0.8 Sucrose solution: Measure 4mL of sucrose into the graduated cylinder. Add 1mL of distilled water. Pour into test tube E. f. 1 sucrose solution: Measure 5mL of sucrose into graduated cylinder, add to test tube F. 7. Find you cutting board, knife, ruler, potato, and plastic wrap. Since 12 equally sized pieces of potatoes. They should be 5x5x20mm in size. There should be no brown on these potatoes. Use plastic wrap to prevent dehydration. 8. Use plastic wrap to cover your digital scale. 9. Place two potato strips on the scale at one time. Record initial mass for all sets of strips. 10. Place the first two is test tube A. 11. Repeat these steps for test tubes B-F. 12. Cover the test tubes with plastic wrap to prevent evaporation. 13. Place test tub rack where it will not be disturbed and leave overnight. 14. Record your hypothesis on whether the potato strips will gain or lose weight. 15. Wash your beaker and graduated cylinder. Day 2 16.
Find the final mass of each potato pair. a. Pour contents of test tube into the beaker. b. Place plastic wrap over the scale. c. Use tweezers to remove potatoes.
d. Weigh potatoes and record final weight. e. Discard solution in the beaker. f. Repeat for all test tubes. 17. Calculate and record the mass difference, record. The formula is mass difference = final mass-initial mass. 18. Calculate percentage change and record. Formula is Percent change = (Final mass-Initial Mass) divided by Initial Mass multiplied by 100. 19. Create a bar graph to show the percent change. Plot molarity of sucrose (M) on the x-axis and the change in potato mass (%) on the yaxis. 20. Share data among classmates. 21. Wash all equipment and dry.
Diffusion and Temperature: Hands-On Labs 1. Get 3 test tubes. Make sure test tubes are dry. 2. Get your ruler and permanent marker. Draw a mark 7 cm from the bottom of each test tube. 3. Place the test tubes in an empty coffee cup. 4. Get a small amount of potassium permanganate (KMnO4) crystals on a scrap of paper. 5. Put 5 crystals in every test tube. 6. Label 3 the plastic cups “cold,” “ambient,” and “warm.” 7. For the cold cup, put in 2–3 ice cubes. Add water until it is ¾ of the way full. Allow it to sit for 5 minutes. 8. Use a thermometer to measure and record the temperature of the cold water. It should be near 5°C. 9. Fill the ambient cup ¾ full of water. Make sure it is around 25oC. Record. 10. Fill the warm cup ¾ full of water. Make sure it is within a few degrees of 40°C. Measure and record temperature. 11. Use pipet to slowly add water from the cold cup to the first test tube. Tilt the test tube so that it is on an angle and the water will slowly go down the side of the test tube. Diffusion will start to take place. Make sure to fill up to your line. 12. Observe and record. 13. Place the test tube in the cold cup. Make sure no water is allowed into the test tube. 14. Repeat for the ambient and warm cups and corresponding test tubes. 15. Observe and record. Record again at 5 minutes, and 10 minutes.
16. Cleanup. Wash and dry all equipment used.
Diffusion Across a Membrane: (Hands-On Labs) 1. Get your plastic cups. Use the marker to label the cups 1 and 2. 2. Use your graduated cylinder to add 150 mL of distilled water to cup 1. 3. Place the dialysis tubing in the water in cup 1. Soak it for at least 5minutes or until the tubing becomes soft. 4. Use the marker to label a short pipet DW. Add 4 mL ofdistilled water to the graduated cylinder with your pipet. 5. Add 2 mL of starch solution directly from the dropper bottle to the graduated cylinder. The final volume should be 6 mL total. 6. Add 2 mL of 20% glucose solution directly from the dropper bottle to the graduated cylinder. The final volume for this step is 8 mL. 7. Transfer the solution from the graduated cylinder to cup 2. 8. Mix the solution with the glass rod. 9. Use scissors to snip a rubber band in 1 place. Do this to the second rubber bad as well, and set it aside. 10. Remove the dialysis tubing from the water in cup 1. 11. Put cup 1 aside for later usage. 12. Fold the dialysis tubing about 1 ½ cm from the end. Tie the snipped rubber band around thefolded end of the tubing, creating a seal. 13. Test the seal with a small amount of distilled water. Use the following procedures as a guide: a. To open the unsealed end of the dialysis tubing, carefully rub the tubing between your fingers until the middle of the tubing opens. b. Use the pipet labeled DW to add a small amount of distilled water to the dialysis tubing. c. If the tube leaks, tighten the knot in the rubber band and repeat the test. d. Discard the distilled water used to test the dialysis tubing. 14. Place a funnel in the open end of the dialysis tubing. 15. Slowly pour the glucose/starch solution from cup 2 into the funnel.
16. Use your fingers to press any air from the top of the dialysis tubing. Fold the end of the tubing and tie the end closed with a rubber band. Ensure that there are no leaks from the dialysis tubing. 17. Rinse the outside of the dialysis tubing with distilled water. 18. Set aside on a paper towel. 19. Observe and record initial observations. 20. Use a pipet to slowly add 20 drops of IKI solution to the water in cup 1. 21. Mix with your glass rod. 22. Observe and record for initial observations. 23. Place the dialysis tubing in cup 1. 24. Allow the dialysis tubing to sit in the cup for 1 hour. Wash and dry cup 2. 25. After one hour, observe and record what you see. 26. Remove the dialysis tubing from the solution in cup 1 and hold it over cup 2. Use scissors to cut the dialysis tubing and pour it into cup 2. 27. Set aside both cup 1 and cup 2. 28. get 3 test tubes. Use the marker to label the test tubes 1, 2, and 3. With a ruler, place a mark 2 cm and 3 cm from the bottom of each test tube. 29. Prepare each of the test tubes as follows: a. To test tube 1, use a clean, short stem pipet to add the solution in cup 1 to the 2cm mark of the test tube. Discard the pipet in a trash bin. b. To test tube 2, use a clean, short stem pipet to add the solution from cup 2 to the 2-cm mark of the test tube. c. To test tube 3, use the short stem pipet labeled DW to add distilled water to the 2-cmmark of the test tube. d. Add Benedict’s reagent to 3-cm mark of each of the three test tubes. Swirl the test tube contents to mix. e. Set the 3 test tubes aside. An empty cup, beaker, or 24-well plate work well as a test tube holder. 30. Observe and record under initial observations. 31. Fill a coffee mug with very hot water, Make sure water is at least 90 degrees Celsius. 32. Place test tubes 1–3 in the hot water. 33. Let them sit for 10 minutes. 34. Observe and record under final observations. 35. Clean up.
Results:
Discussion: In the experiment with the potatoes and sugar, my hypothesis was the exact opposite of what really happened. When weighing my potatoes after the 24hour incubating period, I found the test tubes that contained more sugar, had lighter potatoes and the test tubes with no or little amounts of sugar were much heavier than their initial weights. My percent change range was from 0-68%. In the experiment with the potassium permanganate, my hypothesis was that diffusion would happen faster in warm water, rather than cold. My hypothesis was correct. The rate of diffusion was much faster than the cold cup. Instantly, the whole solution was purple in color. Particles move faster when they are warm, hence the reasoning why the diffusion happened much faster with the warm water. In the experiment with the glucose/starch solution, my hypothesis was correct since the solution did turn dark blue/black due to the presence of starch. The IKI indicator tested for that. The benedicts reagent tested for
present sugars. Sugar was present in cup 1 and 2. Distilled water was your control in the experiment. Honestly, I am not sure how to relate this to real life situations. In foods, if we needed to know if sugar or starch is present, we could use the IKI indicator or the Benedicts reagent to find these. This could be important for safety or food inspections or for the police if someone sued for an allergy to glucose or starch. Works Cited Campbell, Neil A. Biology: Concepts and Connections. San Francisco, CA: Pearson Education, 2005. Print Hands-on Labs, Inc.42-0291-00-02. HandsOn Learning. Lab Paq. Web. 02 Feb. 2016. "What Is Diffusion?" About.com Education. Web. 11 Feb. 2016.