Plasmolysis Lab
Plasmolysis
Plasmolysis is the loss of water from the cell by osmosis,
and this is evident when the cell contents pull away from
the rigid cell wall as the water moves out.
Steps of Plasmolysis
TIME, (min)
Steps of Plasmolysis
Plasmolysis
Purpose: The purpose of this lab experiment is to demonstrate
a biological principle observed in plant cells called
plasmolysis. Plasmolysis is the loss of water from the cell by
osmosis, and this is evident when the cell contents pull away
from the rigid cell wall as the water moves out.
Materials and Methods: For this experiment, the student
requires a microscope, clean slides and cover slips, dropper,
salt, spatula, and elodea. Prepare a wet mount using a single
leaf. Carefully add some salt crystals to the edge of the cover
slip. You may need to add a drop more water onto the crystals
with the dropper. Now place the slide on the microscope stage
and observe the leaf cells on low and then high power.
Experiment: As water moves out of the cells by osmosis, you
should observe the cytoplasmic contents clumping away from
the cell wall as shown in the diagram below. Label the cell wall,
central vacuole, cell membrane, and cytoplasm on the cell
shown below at left.
In the diagram below, the cell is seen under normal
conditions.
LC
HC
HC
LC
The cell is at
Dynamic
Equilibrium!
Field of View is 500um. So the cell is _____um?
In the diagram below, a 6 % salt solutions was added.
This cell was viewed after five minutes.
Plasmolyzed cell
HC
LC
1. Field of View is 500um. So the cell is _____um?
2. Did the entire cell get smaller or did
the contents shrink?
In the diagram below, the cells’ environment has
been re-established using distilled water.
LC
HC
Field of View is 500um. So the cell is _____um?
Plasmolysis
Wilting
due
to a
loss of
water!!
In this experiment what is considered
Conclusion:hypertonic?
What is considered hypotonic?
In the diagram above, the right cell is plasmolyzed. The cell on
the left is turgid. What does this mean and under what
conditions would it be in this condition?
Plasmolysis of human blood cells after Addition of Salt
Epidermis Cells of Allium cepa and Rhoeo discolor.
Epidermis cells with stained vacuoles (red) are
especially well suited for the depiction of
plasmolysis.