Discussion:
In my hypothesis, I stated that, “If Diffusion and Osmosis across a selectively permeable membrane are related to the substance the membrane is submersed in, then an egg submersed in red water will expand as a result of the diffusion of water inside the egg.” My hypothesis was correct, because the egg that was submersed in red water did expand, like I thought.
In my hypothesis, I also stated that, “If Diffusion and Osmosis across a selectively permeable membrane are related to the substance the membrane is submersed in, then an egg submersed in yogurt will expand from gain of weight as a result of the diffusion of water inside the egg.” This hypothesis was slightly confusing, because although the second egg didn’t gain as much weight as the first, it did gain some weight—the way I’d predicted. The volume of liquid in the beaker, however, increased after the egg had been submerged. This should lead me to believe that the process of osmosis was reversed, because the egg would have let water pass outside the membrane, therefore making the volume of liquid greater.
In our experiment, we were testing to see what the independent variables might do to the dependent variable. Our independent variable(s) were the red water and yogurt, and our dependent variable was “any effect which could occur on the eggs”. Our controlled variables were the substances that the eggs were submerged into, as well as the duration of the experiment. The point of doing the experiment was to test the effects of diffusion and osmosis, by using eggs with a selectively permeable membrane. This worked, because depending on how much water was in the substance, we would see how much water entered or left the egg. For example, the red water was very liquid, and therefore had more water than the yogurt did. The egg itself also contained less water than the red water, so osmosis occurred, giving equilibrium to both sides of the membrane by allowing water to pass through it. The yogurt on the other hand, had a lot more solute in it, so it had less water than the red water solution. The yogurt seemed to have a little more water than the egg, because the egg gained some weight as well. The only way it would’ve gained weight was through osmosis, giving it water, so that both sides of the membrane would, again, have an equal amount of water. The volume of liquid in the beakers seemed to increase most in the second beaker (with the yogurt). The difference between the two was 20 mL. I know that when the volume of liquid increases after this experiment, it means that there was a higher concentration of water on the inside of the membrane than on the outside. When the mass of the eggs increases, it means the exact opposite: that there was a higher concentration of water on the outside of the membrane than on the inside, so diffusion occurred in order to have equilibrium.
The experiment was, for the most part, successful, because we found that osmosis really does work with any selectively permeable membrane. I would change the second substance we tested, because I’m not sure what it was that made the results for the second independent variable test so confusing. Maybe we didn’t pick a good substance, or maybe we incorrectly observed (some of) the results for the second test. I would like to try the test with corn syrup instead of yogurt, however.
In my hypothesis, I also stated that, “If Diffusion and Osmosis across a selectively permeable membrane are related to the substance the membrane is submersed in, then an egg submersed in yogurt will expand from gain of weight as a result of the diffusion of water inside the egg.” This hypothesis was slightly confusing, because although the second egg didn’t gain as much weight as the first, it did gain some weight—the way I’d predicted. The volume of liquid in the beaker, however, increased after the egg had been submerged. This should lead me to believe that the process of osmosis was reversed, because the egg would have let water pass outside the membrane, therefore making the volume of liquid greater.
In our experiment, we were testing to see what the independent variables might do to the dependent variable. Our independent variable(s) were the red water and yogurt, and our dependent variable was “any effect which could occur on the eggs”. Our controlled variables were the substances that the eggs were submerged into, as well as the duration of the experiment. The point of doing the experiment was to test the effects of diffusion and osmosis, by using eggs with a selectively permeable membrane. This worked, because depending on how much water was in the substance, we would see how much water entered or left the egg. For example, the red water was very liquid, and therefore had more water than the yogurt did. The egg itself also contained less water than the red water, so osmosis occurred, giving equilibrium to both sides of the membrane by allowing water to pass through it. The yogurt on the other hand, had a lot more solute in it, so it had less water than the red water solution. The yogurt seemed to have a little more water than the egg, because the egg gained some weight as well. The only way it would’ve gained weight was through osmosis, giving it water, so that both sides of the membrane would, again, have an equal amount of water. The volume of liquid in the beakers seemed to increase most in the second beaker (with the yogurt). The difference between the two was 20 mL. I know that when the volume of liquid increases after this experiment, it means that there was a higher concentration of water on the inside of the membrane than on the outside. When the mass of the eggs increases, it means the exact opposite: that there was a higher concentration of water on the outside of the membrane than on the inside, so diffusion occurred in order to have equilibrium.
The experiment was, for the most part, successful, because we found that osmosis really does work with any selectively permeable membrane. I would change the second substance we tested, because I’m not sure what it was that made the results for the second independent variable test so confusing. Maybe we didn’t pick a good substance, or maybe we incorrectly observed (some of) the results for the second test. I would like to try the test with corn syrup instead of yogurt, however.