Question

By the end of this lab, you will see how some materials diffuse through a semipermeable membrane but others do not. The materials that you examine will differ in molecule size. Some will be larger and some smaller. Formulate an investigative question for this situation

Answer 1

How does molecular size affect to the permeability of the membrane to that molecules? So you will try to find out how many molecules of each kind pass through the membrane per time unit. If molecules pass faster, it’s highly permeable to that material. Some molecules may not pass at all, so then it’s not permeable to that material. Then you can put the materials in order from the lowest to the highest permeability. You can also try to find a mathematical formula that shows how permeability increases or decreases as size increases (usually it decreases). Exel is usually helpful to find that formula: you can make a plot and see if it is linear, exponential, potential, etc. There are other softwares with a larger variety of graph options tan Excel.

Answer 2

What is the effect of molecule size on a molecule's ability to diffuse across a semipermeable membrane? sample answer