Eggmosis by Paige and Nora Hoy

Abstract:

The experiment was run to show how different solutes at various concentrates (salts and sugars) affect osmosis in a cell. Through discussions with the agricultural educator and previous observations in the Ag room, the researchers began to conduct research to determine how osmosis impacts human and animal cells. Both researchers are also active dancers and were interested in how the different solutes may be impacting their own bodies in regard to physical performances and intense training.

The procedures of this study were broken into five parts: shell removal, preparing eggs and documenting preliminary data, mixing solutions, osmosis experiment and data collection, and data collection final calculations. The first part described how the store-bought eggs were utilized to represent the cell, but before osmosis could occur the shell had to be dissolved. In Trial #1 the eggs were soaked in vinegar for 24 hours, but in Trial #2 the time was extended to 48 hours to remove more of the shell. In part two the preliminary or baseline data was determined after the eggs were rinsed after a vinegar soak.

Once again in Trial #1, the eggs were divided into bowls to be soaked in solutions, but in Trial #2 part two was adjusted to soak all of the eggs for 24 hours in distilled water after the vinegar bath and then obtain the preliminary weight of each egg and sort into solution bowls. Part three in Trial #1 explains how all of the solutions are mixed and in Trial #2, salt solutes were the focus, and sucrose was left out of the trial based on conversations with science experts. In part four the procedures added the solutions to the eggs, which were 1000 mL of distilled water and 100g of the respective solute (sea salt, Himalayan salt, Iodized salt, pure cane sugar, coconut palm sugar, and stevia) in Trial #1 and 250g of salt solutes to 1000 mL in Trial #2. Trials #3 and #4 were conducted in the same manner as trial #2.

The results of the first trial of this experiment determined that the different solutes did not have a significant effect on the osmosis process in the eggs. Having experts weigh in on the data from Trial #1 and information in the research, the researchers conducted Trial #2 with adjustments. The sea salt and Himalayan salt 25% solutions had the greatest increase in mass to cause a hypertonic egg with the Iodized (table) salt solutions with about half the increase in mass. Trial #3 Iodized (table) salt 25% had the greatest increase in mass to cause the same effect as in Trial #2, causing the researchers to continue to run trials to collect and analyze further data. Trial #4 Himalayan salt 25% solution had the greatest increase, yet not a significant difference from the other two salt solutions. This conclusion posed the following questions in the researchers’ thoughts: 1) Will molecular value have an impact on osmosis? 2) Does temperature