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First teaching 2023

First exams 2025

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Estimating Water Potential in Plants (CIE AS Biology)

Revision Note

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Estimating Water Potential in Plant Tissue

  • It is possible to investigate the effects of immersing plant tissue in solutions of different water potentials and then use the results to estimate the water potential of the plant tissue itself
  • The most common osmosis practical of this kind involves cutting cylinders of potato and placing them into solutions with a range of different water potentials (usually sucrose solutions of increasing concentration – at least 5 different concentrations are usually required)

Method

  • The required number of potato cylinders are cut (one for each of the solutions you are testing – or more than one per solution if you require repeats; this is good experimental practice)
  • They are all cut to the same length and, once blotted dry to remove any excess moisture, their initial mass is measured and recorded before placing into the solutions
  • They are left in the solutions for a set length of time (eg. 30 minutes), usually in a water bath (set at around 30o)
  • They are then removed and dried to remove excess liquid
  • The final length and mass of each potato cylinder are then measured and recorded

Osmosis Method

investigating osmosis in plant tissues method

You will need to use apparatus appropriately to measure out the volumes of your solutions and record your measurements

Analysis

  • The percentage change in mass for each potato cylinder is calculated
  • If there is a potato cylinder that has neither increased nor decreased in mass, it means there was no overall net movement of water into or out of the potato cells
  • This is because the solution that this particular potato cylinder was in had the same water potential as the solution found in the cytoplasm of the potato cells, so there was no concentration gradient and therefore no net movement of water into or out of the potato cells
  • The concentration of sucrose inside the potato cylinders can be found if a graph is plotted showing how the percentage change in mass changes with the concentration of sucrose solution – the point at which the line of best fit crosses the x-axis is the concentration of sucrose inside the potato cylinders

Osmosis Experimental Data - Analysis

investigating osmosis in plant tissues analysis

A positive percentage change in mass indicates that the potato tissue has gained water by osmosis (net movement of water from the solution into the potato) meaning the solution had a higher water potential than the potato. A negative percentage change would suggest the opposite.

  • A positive percentage change in mass indicates that the potato has gained water by osmosis (net movement of water from the solution into the potato) meaning the solution had a higher water potential than the potato
    • This would make the potato cells turgid, as the water exerts turgor pressure (or hydrostatic pressure) on the cell walls – the potatoes will feel firm

  • A negative percentage change suggests the opposite, that is, the solution had a lower water potential than the potato
    • The potato cylinder in the strongest sucrose concentration will have decreased in mass the most as there is the greatest concentration gradient in this tube between the potato cells (higher water potential) and the sucrose solution (lower water potential)
    • This means more water molecules will move out of the potato cells by osmosis, making them flaccid and decreasing the mass of the potato cylinder – the potato cylinders will feel floppy
    • If looked at underneath the microscope, cells from this potato cylinder might be plasmolysed, meaning the cell membrane has pulled away from the cell wall

Examiner Tip

Questions involving osmosis experiments are common and you should be able to use your knowledge of osmosis to explain the results obtained. If describing or analysing an experiment remember to include mention of variables that need to be controlled and mention repeats, as this helps determine the reliability of the results obtained.

Don’t worry if it is an experiment you haven’t done yourself in the lab – simply figure out where the higher concentration of water molecules is – this is the solution with the higher water potential – and explain which way the molecules move due to the differences in water potential.

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Phil

Author: Phil

Expertise: Biology

Phil has a BSc in Biochemistry from the University of Birmingham, followed by an MBA from Manchester Business School. He has 15 years of teaching and tutoring experience, teaching Biology in schools before becoming director of a growing tuition agency. He has also examined Biology for one of the leading UK exam boards. Phil has a particular passion for empowering students to overcome their fear of numbers in a scientific context.