Tonicity Lab Report Biological & Biomedical Sciences Lab Report (Lab Report Sample)

Tonicity Lab Report
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Tonicity Lab Report
* Introduction
The animal cell is made of a bilayer membrane that gives its shape and allows various molecules in and out of the cell. According to Goodhead and Macmillan (2017), the phospholipid layer is permeable to these molecules due to pores and channels that allow the movement of substances such as protein. The extent to which solutes pass through the phospholipid layer determines the tonicity of the extracellular matrix. The shape and the size of the cell are due to the amount of water moving in and out of the cell through osmosis, which moves across the selectively permeable osmotic gradient Bond and Hughes (2016). Thus, the osmolarity is due to the number of osmolyte particles in a solution.
On the other hand, diffusion differs from osmosis as it moves molecules from a highly concentrated area to a low. These particles' movement is determined by whether the cells are in isotonic, hypertonic, or hypotonic solutions. In a hypertonic solution, the solute has a higher concentration than the intracellular fluid. In an isotonic solution, the concentration is the same, while in a hypotonic solution, the extracellular concentration is lower than intracellular fluid. The purpose of this experiment is to determine the tonicity in red blood cells.
Hypothesis
The red blood cells (RBCs) will shrink while placed in a hypotonic solution. Osmosis will cause water to flow out of the cell leading to a reduction in size and volume.
* Materials and Methods