Egg Diffusion Lab

            In this lab, we asked the question "how and why does a cell's internal environment change, as it's external environment changes?" For this experiment, we submerged two eggs into vinegar and let them sit for a few days. Then, we took both of them out and measured the mass and circumference for both. We then put one in corn syrup and another into water. We let them sit in the solutions for two days and then measured them again. We found that the egg grew bigger when submerged in deionized water and shrunk when it was put in sugar water, or corn syrup. The corn syrup was a hypertonic solution while the water was a hypotonic solution. When the sugar concentration increased, the mass and circumference of the egg decreased. The class average showed that the mass of the egg decreased by 47.25% and the circumference decreased by 22.94%. Because the solutes can't move into the egg due to the membrane, the solvents had to move out to balance the amount of solvents and solutes inside and outside. The solvents diffused out of the egg because the molecules move from high concentration to low concentration.
            A cell's internal environment changes as its external environment changes because the solvents diffuse either into or out of the cell to try and balance the amount of solvents and solutes. The solvents, water, inside the cell would passively diffuse out of the membrane if put in corn syrup, but if put in water, the water from outside the cell would diffuse into the cell. Because of the water either moving into the cell or out of the cell, it would either shrink or expand. The addition of vinegar caused the egg's shell to dissolve and soon expand. When putting the egg in water, the egg expanded due to diffusion. The water moved into the membrane making the egg a bigger size. However, when the egg was put into the sugar water, it shrunk because of the water moving out of the membrane.
            This lab is a great demonstration for diffusion because it shows the physical changes of what would actually happen to the cell. It shows the egg shrinking and expanding based on the different solutions it was put in. Fresh vegetables are sprayed with water at markets in order to prevent them from wilting. If water is sprayed onto the vegetables, they will stay fresh for longer because the water will diffuse into the vegetables and prevent them from shriveling up. The salting of the roads kills the roadside plants because the plants diffuse water out of the membrane. It shrivels up and stops functioning causing them to die. Based on this experiment, I would want to test an egg that has been put in sugar water first, and then try putting them back in pure water to see if it would expand and go back to their normal mass and circumference.