Egg Diffusion Lab Conclusion

Egg Diffusion Lab Conclusion

In this lab, we spent a week preparing the eggs. We put them in acetic acid(vinegar) for a few days so we could dissolve the shell, then we put the eggs in de-ionized water and sugar water. After a few more days, we took the eggs out and began conducting measurements and tests on the eggs. We recorded how much the egg dilated or decreased in size, the circumference of the eggs, and the weight of the eggs.

When the sugar concentration increased after putting the eggs in sugar water, the eggs decreased in size. This happened due to diffusion. The water, which was the solvent, diffused out of the egg, and the sugar, which was the solute, did not enter the cell. Due to this, the cell lost size.

A cell’s internal environment changes based on its external environment because of diffusion. If cells did not diffuse, then this wouldn’t be a problem because its outside environment wouldn’t have an impact on it. For example, in the lab, we put the eggs in vinegar, which dissolved the shell. After we put it in water, the egg decreased in size because it was diffusing with its outside environment, which was water.

This lab demonstrates diffusion, because the egg represented a cell. The outside layer of the egg was the selectively permeable membrane, where diffusion occured. The water which was outside of the egg diffused with the egg, causing water to leave the egg. The egg then decreased in size, showing clear signs of diffusion.

Sprinkling salt on ice makes the ice “warmer”. In essence, the point of the salt is to make the molecules in the ice move faster, so that it doesn’t freeze. Adding salt to regular water decreases the freezing point, so freezing salt water requires a lower temperature than non-salted water. When sprinkling salt on water, we hope that the salt will “diffuse” with the ice, therefore making the ice’s freezing point lower and not freeze.

I would want to test whether or not a solid yolk will react similarly to these tests. Since we were only able to test yolks that were mostly liquid, we didn’t get results that could have happened with a solid yolk. Seeing if the yolk will decrease in size, increase in size, or break will be interesting to see, because the egg was already pretty interesting.

Class Data: Control (DI water)                  Percent change

Group#	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	AVG
Mass	N/A*	N/A*	.74%	.37%	.45%	N/A*	6.95%	1.8%
Circumference	N/A*	N/A*	1.2%	1.7%	0%	N/A*	14.37%	4.3%

*Egg burst

Class Data: Sugar Water                          Percent change

Group#	1	2	3	4	5	6	7
Mass	-46.7%	-52.8%	-52.6%	-49.7%	-41.71%	-39.58%	-47.7%	-47.25
Circumference	-22.4%	-18.75%	-26.3%	-26.60%	-32.35%	-21.21%	-13%	-22.94%