As my graph clearly states, osmosis is clearly evident as the mass of the potato chip differed with the different solutions. In three concentrations, (distilled water, 1.0 and 1.5 molar) the potato chip gained mass. We can assume that the potato chip took in water particles from the three solutions. This clearly backs the theory of osmosis. Also, with two solutions (2 and 2.5) the chips managed to lose mass. This was the water escaping the chip to the solution to gain equilibrium. An interesting result I obtained was that of the 1.5 molar solution. The graph shows no difference between the mass and from this I can come to the conclusion that the water concentration was the same inside the potato cells with the surrounding solutions. Equilibrium may have already been reached before we started the experiment.
We can see the results are fairly accurate because the line is near enough straight. The line drops which indicates the percentage mass decreases as we increased the water concentration. This therefore means that osmosis has taken place as the water has moved from a high concentration to a low concentration. My experiment backs the theory of osmosis which states "water will diffuse from a high concentration to a low concentration across a semi-permeable membrane in order to reach equilibrium.
To get as accurate results as possible, I carried the experiment out 6 times. I repeated the process with 6 different potato chips per solution. This allowed me to work out the average of the mass of potato chips. This can also allow me to recognise any anomalous results for any particular reason and then I could eliminate this result out of my average.
…
