OUR LADY OF FATIMA UNIVERSITY – LAGUNA

SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL DEPARTMENT | GENERAL BIOLOGY 1

LABORATORY ACTIVITY | OSMOSIS

Hypotonic, Hypertonic, Isotonic: Observing Osmosis with Quail Eggs

NAME/S: Pomasin, Milagrose Belarmino, Maxene Oliquino, Sophia Hadji, Norkizah

Reigne C. Joyce P. Nicole Abdul Azis
DATE STARTED: November 13, 2024 DATE SUBMITTED: November 28, 2024

PROBLEM:

This experiment will look at how hypertonic (sugar), hypotonic ( distilled water), and isotonic (salt) solutions change
the size, appearance and weight of quail eggs.

SAFETY PRECAUTIONS:
1. Label all chemicals and containers clearly.

2. Act responsibly.

3. Do not perform unauthorized experiments.

4. Follow proper procedures for experiments.

5. Keep your work area clean

ADDITIONAL PROCEDURES (if any):

- We dissolve 10 grams of salt instead of 0.9 grams of salt in 100mL of water

GUIDE QUESTIONS:

Step 1: Decalcifying the Quail Eggs

1. Why do we need to remove the shell from the quail eggs?

We remove the shell from the quail eggs to expose the translucent membrane beneath. This membrane acts as a semi-
permeable barrier, allowing water to move in or out through osmosis. Without removing the shell, the hard outer layer
would block water movement and prevent us from observing osmosis.

2. How does the translucent membrane of the decalcified egg compare to a cell membrane?

The translucent membrane of the decalcified egg functions similarly to a cell membrane. Both are semi-permeable,
allowing selective movement of water and certain small molecules while restricting others. This property makes it an
effective model for studying osmosis as it mimics the behavior of a cell's plasma membrane.

Step 2: Preparing Solutions

1. What do we mean by “hypotonic,” “isotonic,” and “hypertonic” solutions? How do these terms relate to
osmosis?

• Hypotonic solution: This has a lower solute concentration and a higher water concentration
compared to the inside of the egg. In this condition, water will move into the egg by osmosis.
 • Isotonic solution: This has an equal solute concentration compared to the inside of the egg. Water
movement in and out of the egg is balanced, leading to no net change.

• Hypertonic solution: This has a higher solute concentration and a lower water concentration
compared to the inside of the egg. In this condition, water will move out of the egg by osmosis.

• Osmosis is the movement of water across the egg’s membrane in response to these differences in
solute concentration.

2. How do you predict each solution (hypotonic, hypertonic, and isotonic) will affect the eggs?

• Hypotonic solution: The egg will swell, possibly becoming firmer because water enters the egg through
osmosis.

• Isotonic solution: The egg will remain roughly the same size and firmness because there will be minimal
net movement of water.

• Hypertonic solution: The egg will shrink and become soft because water is leaving the egg by osmosis

Step 3: Observing Osmosis

1. Complete the table below by filling in your observations.
[For appearance, you could use: swollen, shrunken, wrinkled, smooth; cloudy, transparent, opaque]
[For firmness, you could use: firm, soft, squishy, rigid, loose, tense]

Initial Isotonic Solution

(SALT)
Time (in hours) 0 5 12 24
Appearance smooth; Smooth; Wrinkled, smooth; Wrinkled; cloudy
transparent transparent cloudy
Firmness firm squishy squishy squishy
Weight 10.0 grams

Hypotonic Solution Hypertonic Solution

(WATER) (SUGAR)
5 12 24 5 12 24
Smooth; Smooth,Swollen; Smooth,Swollen; Smooth; Shrunken,smooth; Smooth,
opaque opaque opaque cloudy cloudy Shrunken;
transparent
squishy squishy squishy squishy squishy Squishy, soft

2. Why do you think water moves in or out of the egg membrane in each solution?

- Water passes through the membrane of the egg by the solute concentration differences of the inside of the
egg and the solution surrounding it.

• Hypotonic Solution: The solution outside contains a lower amount of solute concentration, so water
moves into the egg due to that; it contains a higher amount of water than the inside of the egg.

• Hypertonic solution: Water moves out because the water concentration in the outside solution is lower
than inside the egg, meaning that the solute concentration is higher than inside the egg.
 • Isotonic solution: Balanced water movement occurs because the solute concentrations inside and
outside the egg are the same, so there is no net movement of water

3. What is the role of the egg membrane in this process, and how does it allow for osmosis to occur?

The egg membrane acts as a semi-permeable barrier, allowing water molecules to pass through while restricting
larger molecules and solutes. This selective permeability enables osmosis, where water moves to balance solute
concentrations on either side of the membrane.

Step 4: Observing and Recording Results

1. What do you observe about each egg after it has been in the solution? Does this match your predictions?

Isotonic Solution (Salt):

• 5 hours: Smooth; transparent, squishy.
• 12 hours: Wrinkled, smooth; cloudy, squishy.
• 24 hours: Wrinkled; cloudy, squishy.

Hypotonic Solution (Water):

• 5 hours: Smooth; opaque, squishy.
• 12 hours: Smooth, swollen; opaque, squishy.
• 24 hours: Smooth, swollen; opaque, squishy.

Hypertonic Solution (Sugar):

• 5 hours: Smooth; cloudy, squishy.
• 12 hours: Shrunken, smooth; cloudy, squishy.
• 24 hours: Smooth, shrunken; transparent, squishy, soft.

After observing the eggs in the three solutions, it was evident that the egg in the isotonic solution showed
minimal size change but became wrinkled and cloudy, the egg in the hypotonic solution swelled and became
smooth and swollen, and the egg in the hypertonic solution shrank, becoming smooth, shrunken, and
transparent, all of which matched the typical predictions for these environments due to osmosis.

2. How did the egg in the hypotonic solution change compared to the egg in the hypertonic solution? Why do
you think this happened?

• In a hypotonic solution, the concentration of solutes outside the egg is lower than inside. Water
moves into the egg to balance the solute concentration, causing it to swell.

• In a hypertonic solution, the concentration of solutes outside the egg is higher than inside. Water
moves out of the egg to balance the solute concentration, causing it to shrink.

• These changes occurred because osmosis drives water movement toward the region with a higher
solute concentration.

3. How do your observations demonstrate the principles of osmosis in animal cells?

The experiment demonstrates that water will pass through a semipermeable membrane according to the
gradients of solute concentration. Similarly, balancing the water in animal cells allows the cell to keep its size,
form, and proper functioning.
SUMMARY:

This experiment demonstrates osmosis using decalcified quail eggs, modeling cellular membranes. Immersing eggs in
hypotonic, isotonic, and hypertonic solutions shows predictable changes: swelling in hypotonic solutions, shrinking in
hypertonic solutions, and minimal change in isotonic solutions. The egg membrane selectively allows water passage
while blocking larger molecules, illustrating how cells maintain balance and respond to osmotic pressure in diverse
environmental conditions, highlighting the importance of osmoregulation in cellular survival.

CONCLUSION:

In conclusion, the experiment successfully verifies the principles of osmosis, which demonstrate water movement
through a semi-permeable membrane in response to changing solute concentrations citation and year only (Bartee
et al., 2017). The decalcified quail eggs treated with hypotonic, hypertonic, and isotonic solutions behaved as
expected, with water entering, leaving, and equalizing within the egg, respectively. This phenomenon parallels
cellular osmoregulation, where cell membranes regulate water flow to maintain homeostasis, ensuring proper
hydration, nutrient transport, and cellular structure (Naked Eggs: Osmosis - Science World, 2022)

RECOMMENDATIONS:

To enhance the experiment even more, we suggest controlling quantification of osmotic changes by incorporating
measurement of egg size, assessing the effect of different types of osmotic solute e.g. glucose vs sucrose, exploring
the effect of temperature on osmosis, minimizing egg heterogeneity by including only eggs from a single hen, and
ultimately extending the observation period to about 48 hours or more in order to witness remarkable changes. It is
expected that these recommendations would allow a broader perspective on osmosis to be taken which will have a
bearing on the role of solute concentration and temperature on the selectivity of the egg membrane in mediating the
influx of water.

SOURCES:

Bartee, L., Shriner, W., & Creech, C. (2017). Passive Transport: Osmosis. In Principles of Biology. OpenStax. Retrieved
from https://openoregon.pressbooks.pub/mhccmajorsbio/chapter/5-5-passive-transport-osmosis/

Naked Eggs: Osmosis - Science World. (2022). Science World. https://www.scienceworld.ca/resource/naked-eggs-

osmosis/?form=MG0AV3
Pictures for proof:
 RUBRIC FOR GRADING AS PERFORMANCE TASK

Needs Improvement
Excellent (10) Good (8) Satisfactory (5)
(2)
Thorough understanding Good Basic understanding Limited or inaccurate
of osmosis is understanding of of osmosis, with understanding of
demonstrated; accurate osmosis is shown; some inaccuracies osmosis; many terms
Content and
terminology and concepts mostly accurate or vague misused or concepts
Accuracy
are applied in describing terminology and descriptions in misunderstood.
results and drawing concepts used, results and
conclusions. with minor errors. conclusions.
Conclusion is insightful, Conclusion is Conclusion is Conclusion is missing
directly related to thoughtful, related present but lacks or not related to
Conclusion observations, and to observations, strong support from observations; no
Supported by supported with at least and supported by a credible sources or credible sources
Research one credible article, credible source, connection to cited.
journal, or research though connection observations.
source. could be clearer.
All sources are cited Most sources are Some sources are Few or no sources
properly in the text and cited and listed cited, but cited; reference list is
listed in a reference properly, with formatting is missing or lacks
Proper Citation
section, following APA minor inconsistent, with structure.
and References
style. inconsistencies in multiple style errors
style or formatting. or missing
references.
Includes clear, well- Includes photos of Photos are present Photos are missing or
labeled photos of each each setup and but lack clarity or unclear, with few
Photos of Setup
setup and solution; all solution with most labeling; some variables and no
and Variables
variables are visible and variables visible variables missing. labeling.
clearly defined. and some labeling.
Demonstrates exceptional Good effort shown; Some effort Limited effort; many
effort; all steps are most steps are displayed; several steps are missing or
Effort and completed thoroughly, completed, with steps or elements poorly executed,
Completeness and all required elements minor omissions in are missing or resulting in an
are present in the report. elements of the incomplete. incomplete report.
report.

WRITTEN WORK (65) :

TITLE: ___/2
PROBLEM: ___/3
SAFETY PRECAUTIONS: ____/5
ADDITIONAL PROCEDURE: ___/3
GUIDE QUESTIONS:
STEP 1: ___/4
STEP 2: ____/5
STEP 3: ____/16
STEP 4: ____/8
SUMMARY: ___/5
CONCLUSION: ___/5
RECOMMENDATION: ___/5
SOURCES: ___/4