Ok so my teacher told me that water in osmosis goes from an area of hypo (less, right?) to an area hypertonic of water. We conducted an experiment using dialysis bags filled with a glucose and sucrose solvent and submerged the bags in water. The bags gained weight, but doesn't that mean that the water went in the bag not out? And if the molecules are trying to reach equilibrium, why would the water leave the bag to deprive the bag of even more water, despite trying to reach equilibrium? The glucose molecules could fit through the bag but the sucrose molecules couldn't. Maybe I'm confusing what hypo and hyper refer to, maybe they are referring to the glucose/sucrose? Idk I'm just confused...
Thanks!
Thanks!
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The tonic here refers to the salt or other molecule in the water. Therefore, if you are referring to a glucose solution, it would be hypotonic if there were few glucose molecules (low molarity).relative to the water, and hypertonic if the amount of glucose were high relative to the water. So, you have perceived the problem in your comprehension in the last question that you asked. Now that you know that the problem was related to the understanding of what was hypo and hyper, it appears from the rest of your statements and questions that you probably understand the system.
I, myself, have found it very frustrating trying to comprehend many issues in science with some simple misunderstanding that made the whole thing confusing. Keep at it. I can tell that you have the intelligence and endurance to make an excellent scientist. Best of luck in your studies.
I, myself, have found it very frustrating trying to comprehend many issues in science with some simple misunderstanding that made the whole thing confusing. Keep at it. I can tell that you have the intelligence and endurance to make an excellent scientist. Best of luck in your studies.
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Water seeks balance. The terms you need to know here are hypotonic, hypertonic, and isotonic.
Let's use salt and water.
Hypo - Lots of salt, little water.
Hyper - lots of water, little salt
Iso - equal balance.
If you put a grape in in a beaker of water, the water will diffuse into the grape because there is less water in the grape than in the beaker. This will cause the grape to burst open (lyse).
If you put 10 grapes in that same beaker, the water level would drop but the grapes may not necessarily burst open because the water diffuses equally into all the grapes.
If you put 100 grapes into the same beaker, the water level will drop dramatically to almost a nonexistent level because all the water has diffused equally into the grapes.
One grape, Hypertonic
10 grapes, Isotonic
100 grapes, Hypotonic.
Make sense?
Let's use salt and water.
Hypo - Lots of salt, little water.
Hyper - lots of water, little salt
Iso - equal balance.
If you put a grape in in a beaker of water, the water will diffuse into the grape because there is less water in the grape than in the beaker. This will cause the grape to burst open (lyse).
If you put 10 grapes in that same beaker, the water level would drop but the grapes may not necessarily burst open because the water diffuses equally into all the grapes.
If you put 100 grapes into the same beaker, the water level will drop dramatically to almost a nonexistent level because all the water has diffused equally into the grapes.
One grape, Hypertonic
10 grapes, Isotonic
100 grapes, Hypotonic.
Make sense?