IB Biology
International School of Toulouse
Name ________________________________
Centre No: 1203
Date ______________
Investigation of the Factors which affect Osmosis
Introduction
You have already studied osmosis a little with respect to cell membranes in topic 1.
You should also be able to define Osmosis and you should have an idea of the factors
which may affect the rate of osmosis.
You may remember having carried out experiments using visking tubing and potato
chips in salt solutions of different concentrations. You may also remember how to
carry out the calculation of the “rate” of a process.
More generally you should by now have an understanding of the scientific method
(the importance of hypothesis testing, replicates, independent and dependent
variables, controls, sampling techniques)
All of this will help you during this investigation.
Research Question:
What are the factors which affect the rate of osmosis?
Plan an investigation of one factor.
Remember to choose apparatus carefully and design a “scientific” experiment.