I have a case study on Osmosis that has to have a minimum of 250 words and a maximum of 350. I’ve attached the instructions for this paper below, in addition to the case study the assignment is based on.
“Osmosis Is Serious Business!” by Troy R. Nash Page
Troy R. Nash
Department of Biology
Presbyterian College, Clinton, SC
Osmosis Is Serious Business!
Part I—Too Much of a Good Thing
Times were diffi cult in Habersham County. Th e skyrocketing prices of fuel and food were threatening to
bankrupt the Johnson family’s small farm, which was no match for the multi-million-dollar mega-farms
that had been popping up all over the southeast. Joseph, the family patriarch, was especially troubled by the
farm’s fi nancial circumstances. He knew that this year’s corn crop was his best chance to save the farm, and
his distress was evident to his family as they sat around the dinner table.
“Michael, I’m going to need your help tomorrow,” Joseph said to his eldest son. “I have to go into town to
pick up a part for the combine so I can fi x it before it’s time to harvest in a few months. I need you to spread
the potash and phosphate on the corn because we’re expecting some rain by the end of the week.”
Michael, his mouth full of fried chicken, nodded in agreement. He wasn’t all that interested in farming,
which over the years had been a point of contention between him and his father. At the moment Michael
was thinking more about the time he’d be missing with his friends, but he also realized how vital this chore
was to his father and the farm. “I’ll do it right after school, Dad,” he replied.
Th e following afternoon, Michael was loading heavy bags of fertilizer into the drop spreader on the farm
tractor. His father’s cheerless demeanor the previous evening weighed heavily on him. Michael knew that
bags of the potassium and phosphorous-based fertilizer was the normal load to cover the acres of corn
the family had planted that spring. But as he was emptying the th bag into the spreader, an idea fl ashed
through his mind: “If we need a good corn crop to make it, maybe I should add a little extra fertilizer.”
Michael decided that some extra fertilizer couldn’t hurt, so he quickly loaded extra bags. He was certain
that adding the extra fertilizer would produce a massive crop when it came time to harvest in a few months.
Michael hadn’t told his father about the extra fertilizer he’d added to the corn, wanting to see his father’s
surprise over the size of the harvest in a few months. As expected, the rain started Friday afternoon; Michael
was certain it would start an incredible growth spurt in the newly fertilized, young corn plants and that
his family would hit pay dirt in a few months. He was out of bed early on Saturday morning, taking his
four-wheeler down to the cornfi elds. He expected to see a vibrant green sea of young corn, extra healthy due
to the fertilizer “boost” he had given them. His stomach dropped a bit as he stared out at a fi eld of sickly
looking corn plants, their leaves pale green and slightly wilting. “Maybe it rained too hard and that beat the
plants up a little,” thought Michael, trying to be optimistic. “I’ll check on them again in a few days. I’m sure
they’ll have perked up by then!”
Th e next few days didn’t bring the results Michael was hoping for. Th e corn plants looked even worse! Th e
leaves were beginning to yellow signifi cantly and were continuing to wilt. Having watched his father grow
corn for most of his years, Michael knew this crop wasn’t going to make it. A lump was forming in his
throat as he made his way back to the house, not sure how to tell his father about the corn.
“Osmosis Is Serious Business!” by Troy R. Nash Page
Questions
. What sort of environment (hypotonic, hypertonic, isotonic) did the extra fertilizer create around the
roots of the corn?
. Keeping in mind your answer to the previous question, what do you believe caused the corn plants to
wilt and eventually die?
. If Michael’s mistake had been caught earlier, is there anything that could have been done to prevent the
corn from dying?
. Generally, people water their plants with % H2O—no solutes added. What sort of environment
does this create around the roots of the plant?
. Briefl y explain why plants generally thrive in this sort of environment.
“Osmosis Is Serious Business!” by Troy R. Nash Page
Part II—Too Little, Too Late
Meanwhile, elsewhere in Habersham County, Tom was feeling slightly nervous as he exited the staff lounge
and entered the hustle and bustle of County Hospital’s ER to begin his fi rst shift as an RN. Th e fi rst few
hours of his shift passed slowly as Tom mostly checked vital signs and listened to patients complain about
various aches, pains, coughs, and sniffl es. He realized that the attending physician, Dr. Greene, who was
rather “old school” in general about how he interacted with nursing staff , wanted to start him out slowly.
Tom knew, though, that the paramedics could bring in a trauma patient at any time.
After his lunch break, Tom didn’t have long to wait before the paramedics burst in through the swinging
double-doors of the ambulance bay wheeling in a young man on a gurney. Edward, a veteran EMT, recited
the vital signs to Tom and Dr. Greene as they helped push the gurney into the trauma room, “-year-old
male, GSW to the right abdomen, heart rate , respiratory rate , blood pressure /, no loss of
consciousness.” A gunshot wound! Tom knew that gunshot wounds were sometimes the most diffi cult
traumas to handle.
Once inside the trauma room, Dr. Greene began his initial assessment of the patient while Tom got busy
organizing the things he knew would be needed. He attached a pulse-ox monitor to the patient’s index fi nger
so Dr. Greene could keep an eye on the O2 levels in the patient’s blood and he inserted a Foley catheter so
the patient’s urine output could be monitored.
After fi nishing his initial duties, Tom heard Dr. Greene saying, “It looks like the bullet missed the liver and
kidney, but it may have severed an artery. Th at’s probably why his BP is a bit low. Tom, grab a liter of saline
and start a fast IV drip … we need to increase his blood volume.” Tom grabbed one of the fl uid-fi lled bags
from the nearby shelf, attached a -gauge IV needle to the plastic tubing, and gently slipped the needle into
the patient’s antecubital vein. He then hung the plastic bag on the IV stand and let the fl uid quickly start to
fl ow down the tubing and into the patient’s vein.
Th e reaction was quick and violent. Th e patient’s heart rate began to skyrocket and Tom heard Dr. Greene
shouting, “His O2 saturation is falling! Pulse is quickening! What is going on with this guy?!” Tom stood
frozen in place by the fear. He heard Dr. Greene continuing, “Flatline! We’ve lost a pulse … Tom, get the
crash cart, we need to shock this guy to get his heart going again!” Tom broke free from his initial shock
and did as Dr. Greene had ordered. He then started CPR as Dr. Greene readied the cardiac defi brillator to
shock the patient. Th ey continued to alternate between CPR and defi brillation for almost an hour, but to no
avail. As Dr. Greene announced the time of death, Tom felt a sickening feeling in the pit of his stomach. He
couldn’t believe that he had lost his fi rst trauma patient!
Th en Tom noticed that the fl uid in the Foley catheter bag was bright red. “Dr. Greene, there’s hemoglobin in
the Foley bag,” he said. “How could that be?” responded Dr. Greene. Tom began to trace back over his steps
in the trauma, trying to think of anything that could have caused the hemoglobinuria. His mounting fear
turned to outright terror as he looked at the now empty bag on the IV stand. Its label didn’t read “Saline,”
but rather “Distilled Water.” He looked at Dr. Greene, his heart quickly sinking, and said, “I think I may
have killed the patient.”
“Osmosis Is Serious Business!” by Troy R. Nash Page
Case copyright © by the National Center for Case Study Teaching in Science. Originally published December , at
http://www.sciencecases.org/osmosis/case.asp. Please see our usage guidelines, which outline our policy concerning permissible
reproduction of this work.
Questions
. What problem did the distilled water in the patient’s bloodstream create?
. What happed to the patient’s blood cells as a result?
. Considering the function of red blood cells, why did the patient’s oxygen levels fall?
. After Tom made his error, is there anything that could have been done to save the patient’s life?
http://www.sciencecases.org/osmosis/case1.asp
http://ublib.buffalo.edu/libraries/projects/cases/case.html
http://ublib.buffalo.edu/libraries/projects/cases/guidelines.html
Rubric
for Case Studies:
Criteria Level 4 Level 3 Level 2 Level 1
Concept
1
0 points
Defined the
concept an related
terms studied
6 points
Defined the
concepts studied,
but left out related
terms
3 points
Concept not
defined and left
out some related
term
0 points
No definition of
concepts and related
terms
Summary
20 points
Summarized the
case and stated
the problems
15 points
Summarized the
case and stated
some of the
problems
10 points
Summarized case
and left out the
most of the
problems
0 points
No summary of the
case
Solution
10 points
Provided relevant
solutions to the
problems
6 points
Provided solutions
to the problems
but the solution
were only
somewhat relevant
3 points
Provided solutions
but the solutions
were not relevant
0 points
No solutions to the
problems
References
4 points
Two references
present and
references were
correctly
formatted
3 points
Two references
present but the
references were
not correctly
formatted
2 points
Only one reference
present and
reference is not
correctly
formatted
0 points
No references
present
Mechanics of
Writing
6 points
Clear sentences,
good transition,
and no problems
with spelling,
punctuation, or
grammar
4 points
Clear sentences,
good transition,
but problems with
spelling,
punctuation, or
grammar
2 points
Clear sentences,
no good transition,
and problems with
spelling,
punctuation, or
grammar
0 points
Awkward sentences,
no good transition,
and problems with
spelling,
punctuation, or
grammar
Overall Score
Level 4
45 or more
Level 3
4
0 or more
Level 2
35 or more
Level 1
0 or more
Superior Good Acceptable Needs Improvement
Instructions for Case Study – Osmosis is Serious Business
This is ONE case study that is composed of two parts.
In a 250-350 words summary/paragraph (both parts combined), communicate what you
have learned about this case. Concentrate on the important parts, the concept. Do not
assume that the reader knows anything about the case study.
Five points (5 pt.) will be subtracted for every 1-50 point(s) that you go over or under the
allowed number of words.
Your case study will automatically be submitted to http://turnitin.com/ (a plagiarism
prevention site). High percentages on the similarity report (10% and greater) might be
considered plagiarism and can result in a grade of zero (0). For information on plagiarism
and citation go to http://www.usg.edu/galileo/skills/unit08/credit08_03.phtml and
http://plagiarism.org/
• Write in narrative/essay format.
• Always define the concept discussed.
• Do not use quotes.
• Turn in one page; single-spaced (Microsoft Word file).
• Use at least two additional references (three total – the handout is one) and list
them at the end of your summary. Use an acceptable format, e.g., MLA or APA style.
The references are not part of the 250 – 350 words. Eight (8) points (see rubric) will
be subtracted if you do not have references or use any of the sources listed below.
• Do not use your lab manual as a source; do not use sources such as Wikipedia,
ask.com, online dictionaries, and encyclopedia. Do NOT use my PowerPoint slides.
• Do not include sources (references) within the body of your summary (no in-text
citation).
• Do not use presentations (Prezi) from the internet (they are summaries of the
handout). Do NOT use Course Hero as a source.
• Use a Spell Checker (Microsoft Word) and Grammarly to check for grammar,
punctuation, etc. Points will be subtracted for Grammarly scores below 90. Failure
to check your spelling and grammar can cause you 10 points.
• Submit a Microsoft Word file in iCollege; in the Dropbox in Unit 4, or click on
Assessments on the navigation bar, next Assignments, then Case Study #1, by 11:59
pm on Monday, February 21, 2022.
Late submission will result in a grade of zero (0).
http://www.usg.edu/galileo/skills/unit08/credit08_03.phtml
http://www.usg.edu/galileo/skills/unit08/credit08_03.phtml
http://plagiarism.org/
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Formatting
Title Page
Citation
Outline
