Add 0.1 M HCl to one test tube.
2. My group and I selected three various sizes of plastic containers [cups] to act as molds for the agar.
3. Next, the agar was removed from the molds and cut into cubes. .
4. We made 3 cubes out of each mold to have multiple trials. Our smallest container created cubes 1 by 3 centimeters, the medium sized container made 2 by 2 centimeter cubes, and the largest container made cubes 3 by 3 centimeters. .
5. We filled three large beakers enough to submerge the cubes completely.
6. We waited for almost 20 min to see the results of the diffusion by the solution on the outside of the agar [Cell] .
Results:.
Cubes.
Initial weight/volume .
Final weight/volume.
Difference.
1 x 3.
2 x 2.
3 x 3.
Analysis.
The relationship between diffusion rate and size of the cell is represented in the distance of diffusion in the cell. The larger the cube of agar, the less diffusion that occurred within it. It is obvious to tell that the brown by the phenolphthalein solution began to fade as it got to the core of the cube. It would take a longer time for diffusion to occur with a larger cube, opposed to the smaller cube. Diffusion affects smaller cells more with the same time period, compared to a cell of more mass.
Conclusion:.
As we pulled our cubes out of their cups full of the solution and measured how much the dye diffused into the cubes, we noticed that our hypothesis was correct and that the smaller cubes had a deeper diffusion than the larger cubes. The reason for this may be due to the fact that since the larger cubes had a bigger surface area, it gave more room for the dye to diffuse, thus, spreading out the penetration and making it less than the smaller cube, where more penetration was due to a smaller surface area. When the cell is expanding, the volume has an increasing rate of 3, while the surface area has an increasing rate of 2. This means that the ratio of surface area to volume is vital in cells so that they don't burst.