Egg Diffusion Lab

The purpose of this lab was to find out how a cell's internal environment changes as its external environment changes. We took two eggs that were both dissolved in vinegar to dissolve the shell and expose the membrane, and we put one of them in deionized water and one of them in sugar water. We took the mass and circumference of each egg before we placed them in the solutions, and took the same measurements after we put them in the solutions. Them we knew if the cell shrunk or grew in the different solutions, so we would have a conclusion for our question. 

Our class data showed that the mass and circumference decreased as the sugar concentration increased. Because the cell had more water(solvent) in it than the outside and passive diffusion goes from high concentration to low concentration, or in other words, the sugar water was a hypertonic solution, the water diffused out of the cell, and as a result, the cell shrunk.  

A cell's internal environment as its external environment changes. If the external environment has many solutes in  it, then the water will diffuse out of the internal environment of the cell and make the cell shrink. Meanwhile, if there a little or no solutes in the external conditions, then the water diffuses into the internal environment of the cell and makes the cell grow. This is all because of the concept of diffusion and the different types of solutions. Vinegar is a hypotonic solution, where there was more water outside than inside the cell, so the egg grew from when it had its cell.   

This lab demonstrated the concentration of diffusion, which we also learned in class. We learned that when its a hypertonic solution, water diffuses out and the cell shrinks, and when it is hypotonic, the water diffuses in and the cell grows. 

This lab can also relate to real life.Fresh vegetables are sprinkled with water because the water is hypotonic, so the vegetable becomes bigger which makes it more appealing. Salt along roadsides kill plants because salt is hypertonic, which will make the plant cells shrink. When they shrink, they can't function which also means the plant can't function. 

If I were to test another thing based on this, I would test the affect on salt water on the body. I would want to see what exactly happens to the human cell.