Egg Diffusion Lab

24 hour time lapse of our Egg Diffusion Lab. Egg on left in corn syrup, egg on right in DH2O pic.twitter.com/wdfujQyBXM

— Mr. Orre's Class (@OrreBiology) October 5, 2016

                                                                                     In this lab, we left two eggs in a deionized water and sugar water for 48 hours, and later observed what occurred. Based on the class data, the mass decreased and the circumference decreased as the sugar concentration increased. Because the sugar water has a lower concentration of water than the egg itself, the water in the egg diffused out of the egg from high concentration(the egg) to low concentration(the sugar water), which is known as a passive diffusion(requiring no energy). This then caused the egg to lose water, meaning a lose of mass causing the egg to shrink. On average, the egg, which stayed in sugar water, lost around 43.5% of mass and 26.16% of circumference. The solvents leave the inside of the egg to balance the amount of solutes inside and outside the egg.    

       A cell's internal environment changes as its external environment changes because diffusion causes both external and internal environments to change, for the change will occur from a molecule going in or out of the membrane, so both environments are effected. When the egg was placed in vinegar, the egg expanded as the solvent came in the egg. Both the internal and external condition changed. Then when the egg was placed in the sugar water, the egg shrunk because the water was diffused out and into the sugar water, meaning both the internal and external environments changed, they became equal in concentration.

      This lab demonstrated the biological principal of diffusion, which was taught during class. This lab showed how diffusion works in real life. Because the egg in the sugar water was hypertonic, the solvent(water) went from high concentration(the egg) to low concentration(the sugar water). This was a passive diffusion and caused a change in the internal and external environment of the egg.

       What this lab taught us can also be applied to real life. For example, fresh vegetables are sprinkled with water at markets, so that the vegetables do not diffuse the water in them. This would cause the vegetables to shrink and would be harder to sell. With the sprinkling water, the vegetables stay nice and plump with no wrinkling. Another example of diffusion in real life, is the salting of roads to melt ice. Because of this salting, the plants along the roadsides lose their water inside and either die or become less big and massive. This is caused because the salt diffuses the water out of the plants because the salt has a much lower concentration of water than plants.

     Based on the Diffusion Lab, I would want to test whether an egg that has shrunk would go back to its normal mass if placed in water. I would like to test this, so that I could know whether diffusion is a reversible process or if instead once the cell shrinks, it can never come back to how it was before.