Imbibition by Raisins

Water is the most important constituent of plants and is essential for the maintenance of life, growth and development. Transportation of water into and through a plant takes place by different processes like osmosis, diffusion and imbibition. Imbibition is the process of adsorption of water by substances without forming a solution. Swelling of seeds when immersed in water is an example of imbibition. Itis the temporary increase in the volume of the cell.

Raisins when soaked in water swell up due to imbibition. As a result of absorption or imbibition of water, the size of the raisins increases. The difference in mass between the swollen and dry raisins gives the amount of water imbibed by the raisins.

This video explains how to determine the percentage of water imbibed by raisins.