BIOL250

Human Anatomy & Physiology with Lab I

Lab Report 2: Diffusion and Osmosis

Experiment 1: Diffusion Through a Liquid (20 points)

© 2013 eScience Labs, LLC. All rights reserved.

Instructions:
1. Enter your experimental data into Table 1 below. Report the radius of the dye in
centimeters (cm) to one decimal place.

2. Take pictures of your experiment after your last measurement at two minutes.
Insert your pictures into your lab report. The pictures should provide sufficient
detail to allow the instructor to confirm your final measurements.

3. Complete Table 2.

4. Create a graph of your data in Table 1 and insert your graph into your lab report.

Table 1: Rate of Diffusion in Corn Syrup

Time (sec) Blue Dye Red Dye Time (sec) Blue Dye Red Dye
10 0.5 cm 1 cm 70 2 cm 3.5 cm
20 0.8 cm 2 cm 80 2 cm 3.5 cm
30 1 cm 2 cm 90 2.5 cm 4 cm
40 1 cm 2 cm 100 2.5 cm 4 cm
50 1.5 cm 3 cm 110 2.5 cm 4 cm
60 1.5 cm 3 cm 120 2.5 cm 4 cm

Insert Image 1: Petri Dish with Blue Dye

Insert Image 2: Petri Dish with Red Dye

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 Table 2: Speed of Diffusion of Different Molecular Weight Dyes

Speed of
Molecular Total Distance
Structure Diffusion
Weight Traveled (mm)
(mm/hr)*

Blue Dye  793 g 20  600 

Red Dye  496 g  25  750

*Multiply the total distance diffused by 30 to get the hourly diffusion rate

Insert Graph: Diffusion Distance vs. Time

Rate of diffusion in corn syrup

4.5
4
Diffusion distance (cm)

3.5
3
2.5
2
1.5
1
0.5
0
0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140
Time (sec)

Blue dye Red dye

Instructions: Answer the following questions in complete sentences using correct

grammar, spelling, and terminology.

1. Which dye diffused the fastest?

The red dye diffused faster.

2. Does the rate of diffusion correspond with the molecular weight of the dye?

Yes. The higher the molecular weight of the particles, the lower the rate of
diffusion, and vice versa.

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3. Does the rate of diffusion change over time? Why or why not?

Yes, the rate of diffusion changes over time. This is because as time goes by,
both water and dye molecules approach an equilibrium, thus resulting in a
slower movement. Ultimately, there will be equal number of water and dye
particles in in given point in the solution.

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Experiment 2: Diffusion – Concentration Gradients and Membrane
Permeability (40 Points)
© 2013 eScience Labs, LLC. All rights reserved.

Instructions:
1. Take pictures of your starch and glucose positive and negative controls (steps 4
and 5). Insert your pictures into your lab report. The pictures should provide
sufficient detail to allow the instructor to confirm your results.

2. Enter your experimental data into Table 3 below.

NOTE: In step 12, test for glucose in the beaker labeled “dialysis bag solution”
(from step 11) instead of directly in the dialysis bag.

3. Take pictures of your starch and glucose testing of the dialysis bag solution and
beaker water (step 12 and 13). Insert your pictures into your lab report. The
pictures should provide sufficient detail to allow the instructor to confirm your
results.

4. Enter your experimental data (color) into Table 4 below.

Insert Image 3: Positive and Negative Control Results

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 Table 3: Indicator Reagent Data

Starch Starch Glucose Glucose

Positive Negative Positive Negative
Indicator
Control Control Control Control
(Color) (Color) (Color) (Color)
Dark Reddish
IKI Solution n/a n/a
blue/black  orange 
Glucose Test
n/a n/a Yellow  blue 
Strip

Insert Image 4: Experiment 2 Results

Table 4: Diffusion of Starch and Glucose Over Time

Indicator Dialysis Bag After 1 Hour Beaker Water After 1 Hour

IKI Solution  Dark blue/black  Reddish orange  

Glucose Test Strip  Yellow Light yellow 

Instructions: Answer the following questions in complete sentences using correct

grammar, spelling, and terminology.

1. Why is it necessary to have positive and negative controls in this experiment?

Both controls provide a baseline for comparing the experimental results.

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2. Which substance(s) crossed the dialysis membrane? Support your response with
data-based evidence.

The glucose molecules crossed the dialysis bag to the outside as indicated by
the color of the beaker water after one hour. The starch indicator (iodine)
also moved across the dialysis membrane into the bag, hence the change in
color of the dialysis bag to grey purple.

3. Which molecules remained inside of the dialysis bag?

Starch molecules remained inside of the dialysis bag. Starch cannot diffuse
from the dialysis bag into the outside water due to the large size of
molecules that cannot pass through the membrane.

4. Did all of the molecules diffuse out of the bag into the beaker? Why or why not?

All the molecules did not diffuse out of the bag into the beaker. This is
because and diffusion continues, a point of equilibrium is reached where the
concentration of molecules outside equals the concentration inside. As a
result, the concentration gradient becomes zero and more molecules cannot
move across the membrane.

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Experiment 3: Osmosis – Direction and Concentration Gradients (40 points)
© 2013 eScience Labs, LLC. All rights reserved.

Instructions: Before you perform the experiment, answer the following questions
in complete sentences using correct grammar, spelling, and terminology.

1. Predict whether water will flow in or out of each dialysis bag, along with
supporting scientific reasoning.

It is predicted that water will flow into the dialysis bag if the concentration of
sucrose in the bag is higher than the concentration in the beaker, and vise
versa. This is because the dialysis membrane is impermeable to sucrose
molecules, but will allow water molecules to flow across it.

2. Describe how you will make the 3% sucrose solution for beaker 2 (step 10).

The 3% sucrose solution will be prepared by taking 3 ml of the stock solution

and adding it to 7 ml of distilled water.

Instructions:
1. Take a picture of your four dialysis bags before placing them into the beakers
(step 13) and when you remove them (step 17). Insert your pictures into your lab
report. The pictures should provide sufficient detail to allow the instructor to review
the volume of solution in the four bags.

2. Enter your experimental data into Table 6 below.

Insert Image 5: Start of Experiment 3

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Insert Image 6: End of Experiment 3

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 Table 5: Sucrose Concentration vs. Tubing Permeability

Band Color Sucrose % Initial Volume Final Volume Net

(mL) (mL) Displacement
(mL)
Yellow
 30% 10 16 6
Red
 15% 10 13   3
Blue
 3% 10 10  0
Green
 3% 10 7 3

Instructions: Answer the following questions in complete sentences using correct

grammar, spelling, and terminology.

1. For each of the dialysis bags, identify whether the solution in the beaker was
hypotonic, hypertonic, or isotonic in comparison to the solution in the dialysis bag.

The solution in beaker 1 was hypotonic in comparison to the sucrose

solutions with the yellow and red bands. For the solution with the blue band,
the solution in beaker 1 was isotonic.
The solution in beaker 2 was hypertonic in comparison to the sucrose
solution with the green band.

2. Which tubing increased the most in volume? Why?

The tubing with the yellow band increased in volume the most. This is
because of the high concentration of sucrose which creates a greater
concentration gradient between the inside and the outside environment,
hence greater flow of water molecules across the membrane.

3. What would happen if the tubing with the yellow band was placed in a beaker of
distilled water?
The final volume of the solution in the tubing would be greater than the
volume observed in this experiment. This is because of the greater
concentration gradient that will be created.

4. If you wanted water to flow out of a tubing piece filled with a 50% solution, what
would the minimum concentration of the beaker solution need to be? Explain your
answer using scientific evidence.

The minimum concentration of the beaker solution should be at least 60% and
above. The aim is to create an external solution with a greater concentration of
solute than the solution inside the bag. This will create a concentration gradient

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 to the outside of the tube, forcing water molecules to flow from inside the
dialysis bag into the beaker.

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