If a potato core is allowed to dehydrate by sitting in open air, would the water potential of the potato cells decrease or increase? i think it decreases but i'm not sure. and if a plant cell has a lower water potential than its surroundings and if pressure=0, is the cell hypertonic(in terms of solute concentration) or hypotonic to its environment? will the cell gain or lose water? any ideas...?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water_potential
analysis ques
what is water potential?
Osmosis Lab
/27819
Name: ________________________________ Date: ___________
Teacher: ________________________________ Period: ___________
Lab #: _______
Aim
To determine the biological changes that occur to potato cores over a period of time in different solutions and to relate these changes to the phenomenon of osmosis.
Materials
three potato cores, a beaker of distilled water, a beaker of 90% water/10% sucrose, a beaker of 80% water/20% sucrose, a graduated cylinder, a razor, a dissecting needle, a ruler, a balance, and three pieces of aluminum foil
Overview
By placing pieces of a potato into solutions with different concentrations of solute, water may flow into or out of the potato. Knowing whether or not water flowed into or out of the potato will give you an idea of approximately what percentage of a potato is water.
Procedure
Using the razor, carefully cut each potato core into a cylinder of about three to five centimeters in length. Make sure that all of the potato cores are the same length and note this length for later use. Also measure and record the diameter of each potato core.
Using the balance, measure and record the mass of each potato core.
Fill the graduated cylinder with tap water two-thirds of the way up. Measure and record the volume of water in the graduated cylinder. Attach each potato core, one at a time, to the end of the dissecting needle and hold it so that the potato core is completely submerged in the water. Measure and record the water level in the cylinder. The difference in your two measurements is the volume of the potato core.
Place one potato core in the beaker with distilled water and label this beaker "100". Place the second core in the beaker of 90% water/10% sucrose and label the beaker "90/10". Place the third core in the beaker with 80% water/20% sucrose and label this beaker "80/20".
Cover the top of each beaker with a piece of aluminum foil. Fold the aluminum foil down along the sides of the beaker so that it cannot fall off easily.
Allow the beakers to sit for a day.
Remove the cores from each beaker using the dissecting needle. Measure and record the length, diameter, mass, and volume of each potato core as you did earlier.
Observations
Record the data you gathered on the first and second day in the table below.
Physical changes in the potato cores
100% water 90% water/10% sucrose 80% water/20% sucrose
Day 1 Day 2 Change Day 1 Day 2 Change Day 1 Day 2 Change
Length
Diameter
Mass
Volume
In the space below, record any qualitative changes (in color, texture, etc.) you noticed in the potato cores.
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Definitions of terms
In answering the questions and writing your conclusions, you may wish to use the following terms to make your answer complete.
diffusion - the movement of molecules from an area of high concentration to an area of low concentration
osmosis - the diffusion of water
plasmolysis - a type of osmosis in which water moves out of the material
deplasmolysis - a type of osmosis in which water moves into the material
isotonic solution - a solution with equal concentration of solute inside and outside of the material
hypertonic solution - a solution with more solute in the surrounding environment than in the material
hypotonic solution - a solution with less solute in the surrounding environment than in the material
Questions
In this experiment, why was it important that the potato cores were the same length?
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Why was it important to cover each beaker with a piece of aluminum foil?
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Into which of the potato cores did water flow? From which of the potato cores did water flow? How can you tell?
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Which solutions (if any) were hypertonic, isotonic, or hypotonic? Explain how you know.
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Conclusions
In the space below, write down any conclusions you can draw from this experiment. For example, you may wish to explain how the data you gathered relates to the qualitative changes you observed in the potato cores. You can also estimate what percentage of a potato core is water based on your data.
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Sources of Error
Identify any possible sources of error which may have affected the results of this experiment.
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my coursework is 3 weeks over due haha!
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need help on the coursework for patatoe omosis please
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isotonic
i got a bio coursework just like this somewhat but i cnt figure out some possible sources of error
To determine whether the water potential of a potato core would decrease or increase if it is allowed to dehydrate by sitting in open air, we need to understand the concept of water potential.
Water potential is a measure of the potential energy of water in a system to do work. It determines the direction in which water will flow. The water potential of pure water is defined as zero. When solutes (such as sugars) are added to water, the water potential becomes more negative, meaning the water potential decreases.
In the case of the potato core dehydrating in open air, the water potential of the potato cells would decrease. This is because as the water evaporates from the potato core, the solute concentration inside the cells becomes more concentrated, causing the water potential to decrease. Consequently, water would tend to move out of the potato cells and into the drier environment to try to establish equilibrium.
Regarding the second question about a plant cell with a lower water potential than its surroundings and with zero pressure, we need to determine whether the cell is hypertonic or hypotonic to its environment and whether it will gain or lose water.
If the cell has a lower water potential than its surroundings, it is hypotonic to its environment. This means that the solute concentration inside the cell is higher than the solute concentration outside the cell. Since water moves from areas of higher water potential to lower water potential, the cell will gain water. The water will flow into the cell in an attempt to equalize the water potential on both sides of the cell membrane.
I hope this explanation helps with your coursework on potato osmosis. Remember to cite any sources you use. Good luck!