Let's discuss the outcome.
In my hypothesis I stated that “If diffusion and osmosis occur across a selectively permeable membrane are related to the substance the membrane is submersed in, then an egg submersed in green water will turn green as a result of the diffusion of water (osmosis) through the egg.” . My hypothesis was proved correct as the egg did in fact turn green. I predicted that because of the green water containing food coloring, that this food coloring would enter the eggs membrane and soak in, thus turning it green. I also predicted in my second hypothesis that the egg would turn brown because of the corn syrup. I also predicted that because of the corn syrup being a hypertonic solution that it would not be able to pass through the egg’s membrane. This was proved correct, as the corn syrup did not pass through the membrane and the egg turned brown. My background research was my Potato Osmosis Lab and my notes from class discussions of osmosis. In my class notes, I wrote down that because of the membrane having small holes hypertonic solutions could not pass through because of the large amount of solute within them. My Potato Osmosis helped me understand that semi-permeable membranes can soak in colors and become that color.
When the experiment was carried out the eggs were placed inside of beakers full of vinegar. This was done to dissolve the calcium shell of the egg, thus revealing the egg’s semi-permeable membrane. To make sure that the amount of liquid was consistent of each substance, each separate substance’s volume was measured and recorded. This was the controlled variable. Also, to make sure that no other substances were in the beakers prior to the experiment, each beaker was cleaned prior. This was the independent variable. We refrigerated the eggs both times because we wanted to make sure a constant temperature was maintained and would not affect osmosis. We chose to use a 150 ml of each substance because using this amount would ensure that the egg was fully covered in the substance ant hand. We recorded our observations because we wanted to properly observe and check if and when osmosis had occurred. When we measured the mass and volume of each egg, this allowed us to see if any of the liquids had moved inside or out of the egg in an attempt to create equilibrium. We popped the egg with a toothpick to be 100% sure that the liquids had moved in or out of the egg.
When the eggs were placed in various substances, we noticed that the eggs mass did in fact increase. This was because of osmosis. Green water attempted to move into the egg to create equilibrium, thus causing the mass of the egg to increase. Although this did not occur when the egg was placed in corn syrup, as corn syrup is a hypotonic solution meaning it contains much solute causing it to become quite thick. Which means that the corn syrup was too “large” to fit through the semi-permeable membranes tiny holes. We also noticed that the volume of the green water but not the corn syrup had decreased. The green water in the beaker’s volume decreased because of osmosis and diffusion. Green water had moved into the egg in an attempt to create equilibrium. Although this did not happen with corn syrup as it’s volume was the same.
To me, the experiment proved valid and/or successful as the results were accurate. I was quite content with the results as I feel I have taken away valuable lessons about osmosis. For example, I learned that a semi-permeable membrane can absorb food coloring inks. This proved quite interesting to me. Although if the experiment was conducted again, I would make sure that both of the eggs had separate beakers for vinegar as I think that the second egg on the top did not receive as much vinegar causing it to not dissolve as much as its counterpart. One problem we had was small pieces of eggshell on the egg, which would be submerged in corn syrup. To some extent, I believe that it did not absorb the corn syrup as much as it should have because of this shell. Sadly we could not remove the shell prior to being submerged, as it would pierce the membrane. If I repeated this project I would test the amount of time it took for the eggshell to dissolve as this part of the experiment really captured my interest. Placing a video camera beside the beaker would do this and going over the footage would show how long it took to dissolve. In conclusion I believe this experiment was successful despite its one or two flaws.