Turgor Pressure LabObjectives:

•To explore how force affects turgor pressure

in plants.

•Identify how pressure provides plants with

support

IntroductionPlants have water in their cell vacuoles, the water pushes (like a force) on the cell membrane and cell wall creating a type of pressure which makes the cell kind of stiff or rigid.

This type of pressure is called turgor pressure, enabling the plant (or stem) to stand upright. Lack of water will cause a drop in turgor pressure, causing the plant to wilt and die.

Pre-Lab Analysis Questions:

1. Write a definition for turgor pressure.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J_jw60Is06g

Pre-Lab Analysis Questions:

2. What happens when a plant wilts?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fNyYuVarTIQ

Pre-Lab Analysis Questions:

3. How do you think a piece of uncooked potato (French fry) will change when it is soaked in salt water?

Hypothesis:

Write a hypothesis using the If-Then format.

If____________________________________,

then _________________________________ .

Observations:On your T-Chart, observe the piece of potato soaked in water and the piece soaked in saltwater. Compare them. (How are they alike? How are they different? Think color, texture, firmness, etc.)

Potato soakedin saltwater

Potato soaked in tap water

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

Video Questions:

1. Describe the celery before the fresh water was added.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fhsurzE_-J0

Video Questions:

2. Describe the celery at the end of the video.

3. Approximately how long did it take the celery to change? It took approximately _______________ to become rigid

again.

Post-Lab Analysis Questions:

1.What does the amount of bend tell you about the turgor pressure inside the potato cell?

2.What effect did the salt solution have on the potato?

3.Which one caused greater turgor pressure inside the cell, the tap water or the salt water solution?

Conclusion:You will need to write your conclusion on a separate sheet of notebook paper.

Write your conclusion in paragraph form. Please remember to:

• State the purpose or objective of the lab• Rephrase your hypothesis• Briefly summarize the experiment. What did you do?• What were the results? (Include the data. What

direction did the water move. Why?)

Ex: In the turgor pressure lab, a potato was used to demonstrate how ____________