How to Do a Carrot Osmosis Experiment

An osmosis experiment demonstrates how water passes into and out of plant tissue via osmosis and how plants hold or lose water. The following will show you how to do a basic osmosis experiment using a carrot.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• 2 beakers
• String
• Distilled water
• Salt
• Masking tape
• Carrot
• Knife
• Ruler

1. Understand the objective in this experiment, which is to investigate cellular functions and cellular structures. Understand the main parts of a cell before beginning this experiment and understand particle movement.

2. Pour equal amounts of distilled water into two beakers. Add 15 grams of salt into one of the beakers and label it "Salt Water" with a piece of masking tape. Label the other beaker "Fresh Water."

3. Cut a fresh carrot in half. Measure the length and width of both pieces and record this measurement. Tie a piece of string just below the cut side of the carrot on both pieces. Tie the string tightly.

4. Set one carrot with the cut-end side down into one beaker and the other with the cut-end side down in the second beaker. Allow the carrots to sit in the beakers for 24 hours.

5. Ask yourself what will happen to both carrots in this experiment and why you believe this will happen. Record your predictions.

6. Remove the carrots and examine the tightness of the strings. Re-measure the carrots and record the findings.

7. Note if there are any differences in the tightness of the strings and the textures for both carrots. Observe which type of water caused an increase in cell size. Observe which type of water caused a decrease in cell size. Notice if there was a loss of water by cells in either carrot and whether either cell gained water.