At the end of the experiment, we are able to explain the process of simple diffusion and the concept of osmosis. Diffusion is the process where molecules of two or more substances move about and become evenly dispersed.
The carmine powder experiment proved the theory of diffusion because with no energy required you can see the movement of particles under a microscope. Again diffusion is the movement of molecules from high concentration to low concentration with no energy required. Diffusion is the process where molecules of two or more substances move about and become evenly dispersed. The red powder granule or carmine dye moves because of the vibration of motion of the red granules is caused by vibration water colliding with each other and the powder granules. The red powder granules continue to move even though equilibrium is maintained.
On the other hands the experiment concerning osmosis was the saturation of the potato. The experiment demonstrated the movement of sugar or water across a cell membrane. The potato experiment demonstrated through the change in weight how water could pass through the membrane. Osmosis is a special kind of diffusion; it refers to the diffusion of water.
Osmosis behaves differently depending on the solution a cell is in. Water will always move in the direction that will achieve dynamic equilibrium – an equal balance of solution on both sides of the membrane. For example, in a hypertonic solution, or one that has a high concentration of solute, water will move out of the cell, causing it to shrivel up. The opposite occurs in a hypotonic solution; water will rush from a diluted solution across a membrane, causing cells to swell and sometimes burst. If it does not burst, it will eventually reach dynamic equilibrium. When this happens, an equal amount of water is moving both ways across a membrane. A solution in which this occurs is called an isotonic solution. In the artificial cell, there was a high concentration of both iodine and the starch/glucose solutions compared to the absence of these solutes outside the cell.
This creates a hypotonic solution. As a result, water diffused into the cell in osmosis in order to get closer to dynamic equilibrium. As we saw the greater concentration of glucose the more shrivelled the potato got, indicating the water inside the potato exited out trying to make the concentration equal. The solution containing strictly water made the potato swell as if the concentration inside was lower than the concentration outside.
