Egg Lab
If I place the egg in different materials, then the water molecules will go through the egg
and show a representation of osmosis.
Charlotte Neal
Osmosis/ egg lab
INTRODUCTION
Over the course of six days we put an egg in different substances to see how a cell would go through
osmosis ( we used an egg because once the shell is gone it reveals the egg’s semi-permeable membrane).
DATA
1
CONCLUSION/RESULTS
1) The water moved into the egg. I know this because when we took the egg out of the vinegar it’s
mass was 92.3 grams and the egg’s original mass was 64.1 grams ( 44% larger ). Also, when we
started the lab we added 200 ml of vinegar and an egg into a beaker. When we came back on day
4 there was only 175ml of vinegar left in the beaker after we had taken the egg out. The reason
the water went into the egg is because the egg needed to maintain homeostasis (balance) and to
achieve that osmosis occurred. The type of solution we had was a hypotonic solution meaning the
water molecules went into the egg because there was a lower concentration of water inside the
egg.
2) The water moved out of the egg. This happened because the water concentration was higher
inside the egg rather than the outside so the water molecules moved out of the cell to create
balance. This also caused the egg to shrivel up, this was an example of a hypertonic solution
meaning the water went out of the egg ( high to low concentration). I know the water moved out
of the egg because when we placed the egg into the water it was 92.3 grams and when we
removed the egg it was 55.9 grams ( 40% smaller ). In addition, we had placed 200ml of syrup
and when we took the egg out there was 225 ml of liquid and a thin layer of water on top of the
syrup.
3) That was a hypertonic solution, so the water moved out of the egg (osmosis) to maintain balance
within its environment. The water we see on top of the syrup is the water that moved into the egg
when it was sitting vinegar. This can also be proven by the extra 25 ml found inside the beaker
after the egg was removed from the syrup.
4) The water moved into the egg, which is known as a hypotonic solution. This is proven in my data
with the mass of the egg. When we originally took the egg out of the syrup it weighed 55.9
grams. When we put it into water and took it out on day 6 the egg’s mass was 96.1 grams. We can
also prove that the water went into the egg by the volume of the water after the egg was taken out
of the water. We added 200 ml of water and when we took the egg out there was 150 ml left of
water, meaning the rest went into the egg.
WAS MY HYPOTHESIS VALIDATED?
Yes, throughout this experiment the egg exemplified two ( out of three ) solutions. The egg never showed
signs of being an isotonic solution, it was either shriveled or extremely swollen in size and gained ( or lost
) massive amounts of mass in grams. I think that my hypothesis was validated because the egg was in an
hypertonic solution, which is where the water leaves the cell ( or egg ) to create balance, but in most
solutions it will shrivel the cell/egg. It also was in a hypotonic solution, meaning that the water moved
into the cell to create balance ( in every solution balance is the end goal ) and this caused the egg to swell
in size. In conclusion, my hypothesis was validated because the egg went through osmosis and made an
2
attempt at homeostasis.
