Requirements: Fresh potato, knife, dish or bowl, water and sugar or salt.
Investigating Osmosis In A Living Tissue Eg: Potato
Peel the potatoes and cut two halves of reasonable sizes from it.
Using a knife make cavity (hole) in the two halves labeled A and B.
Cut the other end of A and B to make a flat surface on which they can stand.
B is boiled while A is not. Fill sugar solution in the cavities of A and B.
Stand the two halves on their flat ends in a shallow bowl of water A is the test experiment while B is the control experiment. Leave the set up for 30 minutes.
Results: Level of sugar in solution A rises while that of B does not.
Explanation: Water moves through living tissues of A, which is selectively permeable from a dilute solution in the beaker to a concentrated sugar solution in the cavity. Boiling B destroyed the living tissue (cell membrane) and so, water could not move from the beaker into the cavity with stronger sugar solution.
Conclusion: Osmosis takes place in living tissues.
