Question

Some students investigated osmosis in raw potato sticks.

The students measured the mass of three potato sticks using an electronic balance. The students left each potato stick in one of the three different liquids for 5 hours:
i. distilled water
ii. dilute sodium chloride solution i
iii. concentrated sodium chloride solution
After the experiment the students noticed that the potato stick with the lowest mass was soft and floppy. Explain why the potato stick had become soft and floppy.

Answer 1

The reason why the potato stick with the lowest mass was soft and floppy is because the cytoplasm of the cells has lost considerable amount of water to the concentrated solution of sodium chloride such that the once filled cell are now partially evacuated and having less turgor
pressure.