Osmosis
.... 4. The beakers with potatoes were let to sit at room temperature for about 1 hour. 5. After incubation, the potatoes were removed, dried, and their masses taken. Results: Potato Original weight of potato (g) Weight after 1 hour (g) Change in weight after 1 hour (g) Percent loss or gain (%) dH2O 22.4 23.5 +1.1 4.91 0.7% saline 22.5 22.6 +0.1 0.44 10% saline 22.25 18.8 -3.45 15.51 **See attached graph Discussion: In the water only beaker, the potato absorbed water therefore gained mass. In the case of the 0.7% saline solution the potato showed only a slight weight increase, and in the 10% saline solution the potato lost mass. Conclusion: Osmosis is the diffusion of water molecules into and out of cells, which in this experiment were plant cells. Water will always move from an area of high concentration of water to an area lower in concentration. The distilled water was found to be HYPOTONIC, which means that because there was less water in the cell that in the solution, it was absorbed by the potato with an increase in mass of...