Ever wondered why chips go soggy when you put salt...
Biology75 views·Updated 11 Sept 2026·2 pagesUnderstanding Osmosis Practical: GCSE AQA Guide
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Poppy@poppy_s
1
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Setting Up Your Osmosis Experiment
You'll be investigating how osmosis works by watching water move in and out of potato cells. Osmosis is simply the diffusion of water from a weak solution to a strong solution through a partially permeable membrane - think of it as water trying to balance things out.
Your independent variable is what you're changing - the concentration of sugar solution. The dependent variable is what you're measuring - how much the potato's mass changes. Keep everything else the same: temperature, potato size, volume of solution, and timing.
Start by cutting potato cylinders with a cork borer or knife, making them roughly the same size. Weigh each piece carefully and record the mass. Then prepare your sugar solutions at different concentrations: distilled water (0%), 0.2 mol/dm³, 0.4 mol/dm³, and 0.6 mol/dm³.
Top Tip: Pat the potato dry before weighing to get accurate results - surface moisture can mess up your measurements!
2
of 2
Understanding Your Results
Place each potato piece in a different solution and wait 30 minutes. After removing them, gently pat off surface moisture and reweigh. Calculate the percentage change in mass to see what's happened.
In distilled water, your potato gained mass because water moved into the cells through osmosis. The potato cells had a higher concentration of dissolved substances than pure water, so water rushed in.
In strong sugar solutions, the potato lost mass as water left the cells. The sugar solution outside was more concentrated than inside the potato, pulling water out through the cell membranes.
Remember: Water always moves from where there's less dissolved stuff to where there's more dissolved stuff - it's trying to even things out!
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Biology75 views·Updated 11 Sept 2026·2 pagesUnderstanding Osmosis Practical: GCSE AQA Guide
P
Poppy@poppy_s
Ever wondered why chips go soggy when you put salt on them? It's all down to osmosis - the movement of water through cell membranes. This practical investigation shows you how to test osmosis using potatoes and different sugar solutions.
1
of 2
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Setting Up Your Osmosis Experiment
You'll be investigating how osmosis works by watching water move in and out of potato cells. Osmosis is simply the diffusion of water from a weak solution to a strong solution through a partially permeable membrane - think of it as water trying to balance things out.
Your independent variable is what you're changing - the concentration of sugar solution. The dependent variable is what you're measuring - how much the potato's mass changes. Keep everything else the same: temperature, potato size, volume of solution, and timing.
Start by cutting potato cylinders with a cork borer or knife, making them roughly the same size. Weigh each piece carefully and record the mass. Then prepare your sugar solutions at different concentrations: distilled water (0%), 0.2 mol/dm³, 0.4 mol/dm³, and 0.6 mol/dm³.
Top Tip: Pat the potato dry before weighing to get accurate results - surface moisture can mess up your measurements!
2
of 2Sign up to see the content. It's free!
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Understanding Your Results
Place each potato piece in a different solution and wait 30 minutes. After removing them, gently pat off surface moisture and reweigh. Calculate the percentage change in mass to see what's happened.
In distilled water, your potato gained mass because water moved into the cells through osmosis. The potato cells had a higher concentration of dissolved substances than pure water, so water rushed in.
In strong sugar solutions, the potato lost mass as water left the cells. The sugar solution outside was more concentrated than inside the potato, pulling water out through the cell membranes.
Remember: Water always moves from where there's less dissolved stuff to where there's more dissolved stuff - it's trying to even things out!
We thought you’d never ask...
Our AI Companion is a student-focused AI tool that offers more than just answers. Built on millions of Knowunity resources, it provides relevant information, personalised study plans, quizzes, and content directly in the chat, adapting to your individual learning journey.
You can download the app from Google Play Store and Apple App Store.
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