Lab Results:

The Relationship Between Diffusion and Cell Size

The agar/phenolphthalein block before carving…

• Phenolphthalein is an acid/ base indicator. It turns pink in the presence of a base and is clear and colorless in acidic solutions.

• NaOH was added to the block in addition to the indicator to help turn the block pink.

The “cells”…

• The main block was carved into three smaller cubes which represent different sized cells.

Soaking the blocks (“cells”)…

• The blocks were soaked in a dilute HCl acid solution for about 10 minutes.

• The images show the results emerging during the soaking time.

The results….

• The blocks were removed from the acid solution after 10 minutes, blotted dry, cut open, and the depth of diffusion was measured…