Question

Take four peeled potato halves and scoop each one out to make potato cups. One of these potato cups should be made from a boiled potato. Put each potato cup in a trough containing water.

(a) Keep cup A as empty.
(b) Put one teaspoon sugar in cup B.
(c) Put one teaspoon salt in cup C.
(d) Put one teaspoon sugar in the boiled potato cup D.
Keep these for two hours. Then observe the four potato cups and answer the following.

Explain why water gathers in the hollowed portion of B and C.

• A. There is the difference in the concentration of water in the through and water in the cup (Potato).
• B. Exosmosis takes place as the potato cells act as a semipermeable membrane.
• C. Both A and B.
• D. None of these

Answer 1

The correct option is C Both A and B.

Sugar and salt solutions both are hypertonic which causes exosmosis and thus water moves from the cell of lower solute concentration to the outside of the cell of higher solute concentration through the semipermeable membrane of potato and gathered in the hollowed portion and potato lining will shrink.
Therefore, the correct answer is option C.