Describe the process of osmosis using a Visking tubing experiment and a plant cell in a concentrated salt solution.

*a) The visking tubing contains a concentrated salt solution, which has a lower water potential. It is placed in distilled water, which has a higher water potential. The visking tubing acts as a partially permeable membrane.

Water will move by osmosis from the region of higher water potential (distilled water) to the region of lower water potential (salt solution inside the visking tubing) across the partially permeable membrane.
This will cause the visking tubing to swell and its volume to increase.

*b) A plant cell with 5% sap concentration is placed into a solution containing 12% salt concentration. The 5% sap concentration means the cell has a higher water potential compared to the external 12% salt solution, which has a lower water potential.

Water will move by osmosis from the plant cell (higher water potential) to the surrounding 12% salt solution (lower water potential).
This loss of water will cause the plant cell to undergo plasmolysis, where the cell membrane pulls away from the cell wall, and the cell becomes flaccid.