Egg Diffusion Lab Analysis

In the Egg Diffusion Lab, we had found that the eggs in the sugar water had shrunk, while there was no change in the egg within the pure water. When we put the egg in the sugar water, there would be more solute than solvent outside the cell. Because of this difference, the water / solvent inside the cell would come out, shrinking the cell. This, with the large amount of solute in the water, caused the mass and the circumference of the egg in the sugar water to shrink considerably. As the external environment changes, the internal environment of the cell adapts according to the differences between the outside and the inside of the cell. When we put the egg in vinegar, we dissolved the membrane that prevents materials from entering the egg. After we had done that, we were able to add the eggs without the membrane into either the pure or sugar water. Due to passive diffusion, the materials inside the water diffused into the egg and changed the amount of solvent or solute inside, causing changes in the egg. The high concentration of either solvent or solute goes into an area of low concentration in the egg.

This lab had demonstrated examples of diffusion and its effects, which we had learned in class, that we could apply to other situations. Vegetables are given water to add more solvent inside, making the cells inside the plant grow, and the plant itself will grow with it. People add salt to ice in order to add solute inside the ice, making the hypertonic ice shrink and disappear into water. The salt / solute makes the high concentration of frozen water inside the ice go towards the low concentration of salt, making the cells shrink and turning the ice into water. This experiment would lead others to try other experiments. One such experiment that I think might be tested would be putting salt onto ice and see what could make the ice melt faster. This experiment uses diffusion and also is a great example of other things.