Osmosis and Diffusion Egg Lab
Name ___________________
Date _____________ Per ___
Objective:
In this investigation, you will use a fresh hen's egg to determine what happens during osmosis &
diffusion across membranes.
Questions: What will happen to an egg without a shell in vinegar (water) for 24 hours?
What will happen to an egg without a shell in corn syrup for 24 hours?
Hypotheses: Form testable hypotheses for both the vinegar (water) and corn syrup questions above.
Remember to have only 1 independent variable for each hypothesis.
If an egg without a shell is left in vinegar (water) for 24 hours then ___________________________
___________________________________ because ____________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
If an egg without a shell is left in corn syrup for 24 hours then ______________________________
_____________________________________because __________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________.
Design an Experiment:
Materials: (per lab group)
1 fresh hen egg in its shell, masking tape & marker, 200 mL distilled white vinegar, 200mL light corn
syrup, food coloring, clear jar, digital scale, tape measure, paper towels
Procedure:
Day 0 (Before vinegar on data table)
1. Label the jar with your lab group, period number, & the words "vinegar (water)" written on tape.
2. Find the mass of the egg in grams with the digital scale & record in the data table #1 “Before
vinegar (Day 0).”
3. Find the horizontal circumference of your egg in cm. (before vinegar)
4. Determine the texture: rough, smooth, bumpy, slimy, dry, etc. (before vinegar)
5. Determine the color of your egg. (before vinegar)
6. Place 200 mL of vinegar in the jar. Put a couple of drops of food coloring in and mix. Carefully
place the raw egg into the jar.
7. Allow the jar to sit for 48 hours or longer until the outer calcium shell is been removed.
Day 1 (48 hours later – After vinegar on data table)
1. Pour vinegar into graduated cylinder and write amount of liquid in data table. Rinse after use.
2. Carefully remove the egg to a paper towel & pat it dry.
3. Find and record steps 2 – 5 on #2 “After Vinegar (Day 1)” in your data table.
4. Find the difference between before and after the vinegar.
5. Copy the data from step 3 onto line #3 “After vinegar (Day 1)”. Line 2 and 3 should be the same!
6. Clean and re-label the jar with your lab group, period number & the words "corn syrup."
7. Place 200 mL of corn syrup in the jar. Carefully place the raw egg into the jar. Do NOT push it
down.
8. Clean all of the sticky corn syrup out of the measuring device and off the counter.
9. Allow the egg to sit for 24 hours.
Day 2 (another 24 hours later – after corn syrup)
1. Pour corn syrup into graduated cylinder and write amount of liquid in data table. Rinse very well
after use.
2. Carefully remove the egg to a paper towel & pat it dry.
3. Find and record steps 2 – 5 on #4 “After Syrup (Day 2)” in your data table.
4. Find the difference between soaking in vinegar and corn syrup.
5. Clean up your work area by making sure ALL corn syrup is gone. No sticky residue should be left.
Collect and Analyze Data:
Mass (g)
Circumference Texture
(cm)
1. Before Vinegar (Day 0)
2. After Vinegar (Day 1)
Difference Day 1
3. After Vinegar (Day 1)
4. After Syrup (Day 2)
Difference Day 2
Color
of egg
Liquid Amount
in Jar
200 mL vinegar
Data Analysis Continued: Using the data above, graph the mass for days 0, 1, and 2 on the left graph.
Graph the circumference for days 0, 1, and 2 on the right graph. Be sure to use an even and appropriate
scale
Change in Egg Circumference vs. Days in Solution
Egg Mass (g)
Egg Circumference (cm)
Change in Mass vs. Days in Solution
Days in Solution
Graph Key
Vinegar _____
Corn Syrup _ _ _ _
Days in Solution
Drawing Conclusions:
Were your hypotheses correct? Why or why not? Be sure to include data from your table for both
hypotheses. _____________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
Communicate Results: (at least 5 sentences): Explain what you learned about osmosis and diffusion
along with evidence (data) that they occurred, any possible sources of error and ideas for future
experiments to extend this one, etc.
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________________
If you’d like, you may copy and paste most of the above and type up a formal lab report. You may also use quality
handwriting and graphing skills to write directly on this paper to turn in. Either is fine with me but you must use
complete sentences, good grammar, and quality penmanship.
LAST STEP!!!
Go back and reread the entire lab to make sure you followed all directions and did your best work. Be sure to ask if you
have any questions!