Download Observing Osmosis in Elodea KEY

Biology
HS/Science
Unit: 04 Lesson: 02
Observing Osmosis in Elodea KEY
Analysis Questions:
1. Where were the chloroplasts located in the Elodea leaf under normal conditions?
Under normal conditions, the chloroplasts were mostly towards the cell wall, with the
central vacuole taking up the center area.
2. Where were the chloroplasts located in the Elodea leaf when the saline (salt) solution was added?
When the saline solution was added, the chloroplasts all clumped to the middle of the cell.
3. In which structure do you find the most water in a plant cell, such as the Elodea leaf?
The water is mostly in the central vacuole.
4. Describe what happened when you added the saline (salt) solution to the leaf. Why did this
happen?
The central vacuole shrank, and the chloroplasts all started going towards the center of the
cell. The cell wall remained in place. This happened because there was more water inside
the cell than outside the cell, so water left the cell to balance out the water inside and
outside of the cell.
5. In thinking about what you observed in this lab, what would happen to plants on the side of a road
if salt was sprayed to melt ice on the road?
Water would flow out of the plant cells, causing them to become wilted.
©2012, TESCCC
04/19/13
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