5/7/10

AP 5

Abstract: The experiment consists of setting up a room temperature bath and a 10oC bath.
Obtain 3 100-mL graduated cylinders. Fill the first with 50mL of water, drop 25
germinating peas in the cylinder, and determine the amount of water that was displaced.
The second cylinder needs to be filled with 50mL of water, drop 25 dried peas into it, and
determine the amount of water that was displaced. The last cylinder needs 50mL of water
and 25 dried peas and add enough glass beads to attain a volume equivalent to that of the
germinating peas. Now recreate all three cylinders for use in respirometer 4, 5, and 6.
Obtain 6 vials with and attached stopper and pipette. Place a small piece of cotton in the
bottom of each vial and moisten the cotton with 15% KOH. Place the first set of
germinating peas, dry peas plus beads, and beads in vials 1, 2, and 3 respectively. Place
the second set of germinating peas, dry peas plus beads, and beads in vials 4, 5, and 6
respectively. Insert all the stoppers to each vial, and place a weight on the end of each
vial. Make a sling with masking tape across both baths. This is used to keep the pipette
out of water during an equilibrium period of 7 minutes. Vials 1, 2, and 3 should rest in
the room-temperature bath and vials 4, 5, and 6 should rest in the 10oC bath. After the
equilibrium period, immerse all vials into their respective baths for 0, 5, 10, 15, and 20
minutes. Every 5 minutes for 20 minutes check the readings on the pipette of the waters
position and record it in a table.
To set up the baths, two tubs are needed and must be filled halfway with water.
o
The 10 C bath needs ice added to it continuously to keep it at the right temperature. Use a
glass thermometer to measure and keep the water at a continuous temperature. Setting the
rest of the experiment up requires 6 vials with an attached stopper and pipette. Use
masking tape to create a sling across each bath to keep the pipette’s out of the water until
equilibrium has been achieved. After about 7 minutes, remove the masking tape and
immerse the pipette in the baths.
The results should show that the room temperature germinating peas have the
fastest rate of photosynthesis. The rate is .040 of O2 per minute while the 10oC bath
yielded a rate of .001 O2 per minute.

Emphasis: Data collection and analysis

Objectives:
Before doing this lab, you should understand:
• Respiration, dormancy, and germination;
• How a respirometer works in terms of the gas laws;
• The general processes of metabolism in living organisms; and
• How the rate of cellular respiration relates to the amount of activity in a cell.
After doing this lab, you should be able to:
• Calculate the rate of cell respiration from experimental data;
• Relate gas production to respiration rate;
 • Test the rate of cellular respiration in germinating versus nongerminated seeds in
a controlled experiment; and
• Test the effect of temperature on the rate of cell respiration in germinating versus
nongerminated seeds in a controlled experiment.

Problem: What variable increases the rate of photosynthesis?

Data:
Beads Alone Germinating Peas Dry Peas and Beads

Time Reading Diff. Reading Diff. Corrected Reading Diff. Corrected

(Min) at time at time Diff.∆ at time Diff.∆
X X X

Initial- 3.38 3.35 3.47

0

0-5 3.38 0 3.16 .19 .19 3.46 .01 .01

5-10 3.38 0 3.04 .31 .31 3.44 .03 .03

10-15 3.38 0 2.93 .42 .42 3.43 .04 .04

15-20 3.38 0 2.57 .78 .78 3.42 .05 .05

Initial- 3.40 3.32 3.40

0

0-5 3.39 .01 3.20 .12 .11 3.40 0 .01

5-10 3.38 .02 3.11 .21 .19 3.40 0 .02

10-15 3.38 .02 3.00 .32 .30 3.39 .01 .01

15-20 3.38 .02 2.95 .37 .93 3.38 .02 0

1. In this activity you are investigating both the effect of germination versus
nongermination and warm temperature versus cold temperature on respiration rate.
Identify two hypotheses being tested in this activity.
The rate of cellular respiration is higher in the germinating peas in cold than in the
beads or non-germinating peas; the cooler temperature in the cold-water baths slows the
process of cellular respiration in the both germinating and non-germinating peas.

2. This activity uses a number of controls. Identify at least three of the controls,
and describe the purpose of each.
 The constant temperature in the water baths yielding stable readings, the
unvarying volume of KOH from vial to vial leading to equal amounts of carbon
dioxide consumption, identical equilibration periods for all the respirometers,
precise time intervals between measurements, and glass beads acting as a control
for barometric pressure all served as controls.

3. Graph the results from the corrected difference column for the germinating
peas and the dry peas at both room temperature and at 10 degrees C.

For this graph, you will need to determine the following

a. The independent variable: Time Interval (minutes)

b. The dependent variable: Oxygen Consumption Change

Rate of Oxygen Consumption with varying variables

4 Beads at room
3.5 temperature
Oxygen Consumption

3 Beads at 10 degrees
2.5 celsius
Change

2 Germinating Peas at
room temperature
1.5
Germinating Peas at
1
10 Degrees Celsius
0.5
Dry Peas and Beads
0 at room temperature
0 5 10 15 20 Dry Peas and Beads
Time Intervals (Minutes) at 10 Degrees Celsius

4. Describe and explain the relationship between the amount of oxygen

consumed and time. There was a constant, gradual incline in the amount of
oxygen consumed over precise passage of time

5.

Condition Calculations Rate in mL O2/

minute

Germinating Peas/ (3.40-3.38) .001

10 oC
20 min.
 Germinating Peas/ (3.35-2.57) .039
Room Temperature
20 min.

Dry Peas/ 10 oC (3.40-3.38) .001

20 min.

Dry Peas/ Room (3.47-3.42) .0025

Temperature
20 min.

6. Why is it necessary to correct the readings from the peas with the readings from
the beads? The beads served as a control variable, therefore, the beads
experienced no change in gas volume.

7. Explain the effects of germination (versus non-germination) on pea seed

respiration. The germinating seeds have a higher metabolic rate and
needed more oxygen for growth and survival. The non-germinating peas, though
alive, needed to consume far less oxygen for continued subsistence.

8. Graph 5.2 is a sample graph of possible data obtained for oxygen consumption
by germinating peas up to about 8oC.

9. What is the purpose of KOH in this experiment?

The KOH drops absorbed the carbon dioxide and caused it to
precipitate at the bottom of the vial and no longer able to effect the readings.

10. Why did the vial have to be completely sealed under the stopper?
The stopper at the top of the vial had to be completely
sealed so that no gas could leak out of the vial and no water would be allowed
into the vial.

11. If you used the same experimental design to compare the rates of respiration
of a 35g mammal at 10 oC, what results would you expect?
Explain your reasoning. Respiration would be
higher in the mammal since they are warm-blooded and endothermic.

12. If respiration in a small mammal were studied at both room temperature (21
o
C) and 10 oC, what results would you predict? Explain your reasoning.
Respiration would be higher at 21 degrees because it would
be necessary for the animal to maintain a higher body temperature. The results
would proliferate at 10 degrees because the mammal would be required to retain
its body temperature at an even lower temperature in comparison to room
temperature.

13. Explain why water moved into the respirometer pipettes.

While the peas underwent cellular respiration, they
consumed oxygen and released carbon dioxide, which reacted with the KOH in
the vial, resulting in a decrease of gas in the pipette. The water moved into the
pipette because the vial and pipette were completely submerged into the bath.

14. Design an experiment to examine the rates of cellular respiration in peas that
have been germinating for 0, 24, 48, and 72 hours. What results would you
expect? Why? Respirometers could be set up with respirometer 1
containing non-germinating peas, respirometer 2 holding peas that have been
germinating 24 hours, 3 would contain the peas that germinated 48 hours, and 4
would hold the peas that germinated 72 hours. All the respirometers should have
the KOH added to the bottom in the same manner as in lab described earlier. The
respirometers should be placed in baths with the same temperature for all the
respirometers. The seeds that have not begun germination would consume very
little oxygen. The peas that have been germinating for 72 hours will have the
greatest amount of oxygen consumption, while the other two samples will
consume a medium (in comparison to respirometers 1 and 4 results) amount of
oxygen.

Conclusion: The highest recorded rate of O2 per minute was .039mL. I think that
because the peas were germinating that they were more active already. The peas
kept in the 10oC bath were much colder than room temperature so their molecules
moved slower and thus there was little reaction to the variables. The peas in the
10oC bath both had a rate of .001mL O2 per minute.

Discussion: In the lab, CO2 made during cellular respiration was removed by the
potassium hydroxide and created potassium carbonate. It was necessary that the carbon
dioxide be removed so that the change in the volume of gas in the respirometer was directly
proportional to the amount of oxygen that was consumed. In the experiment, water will
move toward the region of lower pressure. Oxygen was consumed and its volume was
reduced to a solid. The result was a decrease in gas volume within the tube, and a related
decrease in pressure in the tube. The respirometer with just the glass beads served as a
control, allowing changes in volume due to changes in atmospheric pressure and/or
temperature.