We did a lab today in class where we observed the effects of osmosis. We had two gummy bears in each of three cups, where each cup was filled with either vinegar, syrup, or water. We took the masses of the gummy bears to see if they shrunk or if they got bigger. In a question here, it states to create an illustration showing the movement of WATER across the gummy bear membrane for each solution (include appropriate labels). My question is, why does it say "WATER" specifically, if the gummy bears were put into vinegar and syrup also? Does anybody else understand this question? thx :-)
In the context of your lab, the prompt is asking you to illustrate the movement of water specifically because osmosis is the diffusion of water molecules across a selectively permeable membrane. While it's true that the gummy bears were placed in vinegar and syrup, the focus of the observation is on the osmosis of water. Vinegar and syrup have different concentrations of solutes compared to water, which will result in different osmotic effects on the gummy bears.
To understand the question fully, you need to grasp the concept of osmosis and its relation to solvent and solute. In this case, water acts as the solvent, and vinegar and syrup act as the solutes. When the gummy bears are immersed in these solutions, water molecules will move across their membranes in response to the concentration gradient of solutes. The illustration should show the direction in which water is moving, indicating how the gummy bears are affected by osmosis.
To create the illustration:
1. Draw one of the cups containing a gummy bear in water, another with vinegar, and another with syrup.
2. Label each cup accordingly (e.g., "Water," "Vinegar," "Syrup").
3. Draw arrows pointing in the direction of water movement across each gummy bear membrane. The arrows should indicate whether water is moving into or out of the gummy bear.
4. Add labels to each arrow to specify the correct direction of movement (e.g., "Water In," "Water Out").
By creating this illustration, you will visually represent the osmotic effects of water on the gummy bears when placed in different solutions.