What happens when you put a potato slice in pure water?
The first potato slice is placed in distilled water, which is a high concentration of almost pure water, definitely higher than that which the potato’s cells contain. The water will diffuse into the cells of the potato, causing them to swell; the cells may be characterized as being “turgid”, or swollen.
How does water move in or out of the potato cell?
Water moves by diffusion across the cell membrane. The pores in the cell membrane are big enough to allow the water molecules to cross but are too small for the sugar molecules so the membrane acts like a sieve. The potato at the end. This is due to weak bonds which form between the sugar molecules and water molecules.
What happens if you put a potato in sugar water?
This causes the cells to shrivel up and become limp. The same happens in the sugar water, but because potato cells contain more sugar than salt, the potato doesn’t lose as much water.
Why did water move out of the potato strips?
The shrinking and expanding of the potato strips is due to osmosis. Potatoes are made of cells, and their cell walls act as semipermeable membranes. If the salt concentration in the cup is higher than inside the potato cells, water moves out of the potato into the cup.
Why did the student dry the potato before weighing it?
However, it is very important to dry the potato cylinders before weighing them to ensure that any change in the mass of the potato is due to a change in the water content inside the potato cells, not due to any sucrose solution on the outside of the cylinder.
Why did the potato in 0.0 mol sugar solution increase in mass?
Answer to Question #158156 in Cell Biology for Chiara Explain why the potato in 0.0mol/dm^3 sugar solution increases in mass. This is as a result of a lower external osmotic pressure and a net flow of water into the cell.
What happens when a potato is soaked in saltwater?
When a potato chip is put into salt water, the potato cells become flaccid (soft and floppy). This is because there is a higher concentration of water molecules inside the potato cells than outside. More water leaves the cell than enters, the cell contents shrink and there is less water pressure against the cell wall.
Why are the potato cylinders dried before weighing them the second time?
We dry the chips on a paper towel before weighing them so that we are sure that we are measuring change in mass of the potato chips.
Why does the mass of a potato increase in water?
Mass – The increase in mass of the potato strip in water is due to the movement of water molecules into the plant cells via osmosis. As more water molecules are present in cells – and water has mass – the final mass of the potato strip will be greater than the first.
Why does potato increase in mass?
1. Potato is saturated and water molecules move at maximum rate of osmosis, therefore it increase the mass of potato. 2. In case of slightly fewer water molecules and lower rate of reaction, therefore only little increase in mass of potato.
