Cellular Transport

CELLULAR TRANSPORT ABSTRACT The transport of materials through cellular membranes is a crucial function for the survival of cells. There are three different methods of transport through which materials can pass through cellular membranes: active transport, passive transport, and facilitated or carrier mediated transport. In our lab experiment, we studied the active transport of the amino acid leucine into the bacterium Escherichia coli and the passive transport of water molecules into onion cells. In the …

…In the diffusion experiment, we vindicated our hypothesis that plasmolysis does occur and solutes are moved from outside to inside of cell and water moved in the opposite directions. Furthermore, the plasmolytic rate in the salt solution was greater than the glucose solution. This is because when salts are solvated it breaks up into their component ions which increase the molarity or amount of solute. A greater amount of solute then results in more plasmolysis.