Beetroot Lab Report
Raw Data:
• Table one; shows the effect of water temperature has on the rate at which the anthocyanin pigment leaves of a beetroot tap root cells
• My groups results are highlighted in yellow and the class results are left blank
Temperature ͦC (+/- 1 ͦC) Amount of green light that was absorbed by the solution (+/- 0.001) Group 1 Group 2 Group 3 Group 4 Group 5 Group 6 Group 7
20 0.099 0.188 0.202 0.141 0.152 0.143 0.157
30 0.274 0.173 0.205 0.170 0.262 0.180 0.233
40 0.285 0.127 0.327 0.234 0.283 0.173 0.309
50 0.373 0.411 0.729 0.378 0.341 0.420 0.601
60 0.742 0.253 0.585 0.465 0.350 0.290 0.431
70 0.987 0.350 0.385 0.638 0.937 0.222 0.829
Wavelength (nm) 526.00 534.23 526.20 536.32 531.90 535.36 526.90
In beetroot cells the red anthocyanin pigment occurs in the vacuoles. Each vacuole is surrounded by a membrane and outside it the cytoplasm is surrounded by the plasma membrane. These membranes are too thin to be seen but we can draw certain conclusions about their properties.
Hypothesis; Membranes of the beetroot cells are composed of phospholipid bilayers. These form a stable fluid mosaic and retain their contents. The fluidity of the mosaic increases with temperature and high temperatures may result in the membrane becoming unstable. This would cause the anthocyanin pigment to leak …show more content…
from the cells.
The table above shows the raw results of the temperature that each core was left at against the absorption of green light by the solution. With these results from each individual group will allow us to calculate standard deviation and the mean.
Processed Data:
• Table two; shows the mean absorption of the green pigment and the temperature/standard deviation
Temperature ͦC (+/- 1 ͦC) Mean of absorption (+/- 0.001) Standard
Deviation of absorption of pigment (+/- 0.001) 20 0.155 0.031
30 0.214 0.040
40 0.248 0.069
50 0.465 0.133
60 0.445 0.160
70 0.621 0.284
Table two is used to show standard deviations which can be done automatically in excel and the mean which was found by doing an average of all of the results gained during the experiment.
Also, standard deviation can be found by using the formula below;
Graph one:
Graph one is used to show how the cores were treated against the mean absorption of light
Graph one compares the amount of green light that was absorbed by the solution (+/- 0.0001) to the temperature ͦC (+/- 1 ͦC). The results for the graph above was taken from the table above, the bigger the temperature the more green light was absorbed through the cell membrane. The average absorption of the blue light has to pass through the plasma membrane of the beetroot plant which will allow us to see how the temperature will affect the red pigment. The average is found by adding up the group’s results and dividing it by the number of results.
Conclusion:
To conclude, our hypothesis is proved true due to the fluidity of the fluid mosaic which increases with temperature. The high temperature allows the membrane to become unstable allowing the red pigment to leak from the cells. As the temperature of the distilled water increased, the amount of anthocyanin (red pigment) released from the beetroot increased as well. This leads to a bigger absorption of green light which we measured by using the colorimeter. This is due because ¨A cell membranes main function is one of structure and containment, and in this case the strength of this structure in relation to temperature changes and the containment of the pigment anthocyanin¨ The membrane becomes more permeable when the fluidity of the phospholipids increase. “If the temperature is too hot the membrane changes shape, and makes holes it is damaged and the anthocyanin leaks out, the more damage the more leakage.” Also, the purple pigment leaks from beetroot. “Plant cells are surrounded by cellulose cell walls. When you cut through a piece of plant tissue, you cut through some of the cell walls and rupture the cell contents. The pigment then leaks out. The fact that it does not continue to leak suggests that further cells are not being damaged. If the beetroot tissue is treated with increasing temperatures, as the temperature rises, the phospholipid bilayer of the cell-surface membrane and the vacuole membrane will be disrupted. This means that the vacuole contents will more readily leak into the water in the test tube. The higher the temperature, the greater the disruption to the plasma membranes and the more pigment will leak out.” After researching over how light is absorbed by the beetroot and comparing it to previous experiments online the results turned out the same. Although we could have made simple mistakes as a class our results still showed that there was a positive correlation.
Evaluation:
Issue Explanation of Problem Improvement
Temperature wasn’t constant Getting the temperature to be exactly 20, 30, 40, 50, 60 and 70 degrees was difficult to keep constant. When the beetroot was taken out of the water it cooled very quickly which could have altered the results. This could cause the releasing of red pigment from the beetroot to differ. Trying to keep the same constant temperature could be difficult but if the water bath would allow a stand to hold the tube it would permit each group to keep it at a constant temperature and get accurate results for the experiment.
Beetroots weren’t the same size Each group cut their own beetroots making it very simple for us to make an error. It was very hard to make the beetroot the perfect size which could lead to a change in the results in how much pigment was released due to an increase/decrease in the size. Cutting the beetroots and trying to have them be the same size can be difficult but by adding time to calculate the mass could allow us to have precise results.
Amount of distilled water varied When measuring the amount of water in the test tube an error could have easily been made pouring too much or too little. The more water a single test tube has an impact on the amount of red pigment released. Having several test tubes to measure the distilled water could make the experiment more effective. Also, more time could allow us to not make careless errors when measuring the water.
Not enough time to perform complete experiment in one day As a class, we performed the experiment over a two day period.
Day one consisted of cutting the beetroots and placing them at each temperature while day two was used to measure how much green light was absorbed by the colorimeter. This could have affected the results because light could have reached the tubes causing some of the pigment to be damaged and not give accurate results. There are not many solutions for this but I suggest that we perform the lab experiment with sufficient time to do all of it in one day permitting more exact results on how much green light will be
absorbed.
Beetroots might have been taken outside of the water before it was time Like stated in the previous issue the beetroots might have not been in the test tube for the right amount of time due to the rush to get it finished or getting out of the test tube. This alters the results because leaving the beetroot in the water allows more of the pigment to be released. Students could either have tongs to take out the beetroot at the adequate time and to have a stopwatch for each test tube allowing students to visualize how much time they have and be able to take the beetroot out in time.
Bibliography (work cited):
"Investigating the Effect of Temperature on Plant Cell Membranes." Nuffield Foundation |. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 Jan. 2014.
"Absorbance of Beetroot Pigment Using Visible Spectrophotometer." Absorbance of Beetroot Pigment Using Visible Spectrophotometer. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 Jan. 2014.
"How Temperature Effects the Movement of Pigment Through Cell Membranes :: Papers."How Temperature Effects the Movement of Pigment Through Cell Membranes :: Papers. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 Jan. 2014.
"Beetroot Contains Red Pigments Called Betalains, Located within the Cell Vacuole. Normally the Pigments Can 't Pass through Membranes but They Leak out When the Beetroot Is Cooked." Get A-Level Coursework and Essays Help from Marked By Teachers.com.
• Table one; shows the effect of water temperature has on the rate at which the anthocyanin pigment leaves of a beetroot tap root cells
• My groups results are highlighted in yellow and the class results are left blank
Temperature ͦC (+/- 1 ͦC) Amount of green light that was absorbed by the solution (+/- 0.001) Group 1 Group 2 Group 3 Group 4 Group 5 Group 6 Group 7
20 0.099 0.188 0.202 0.141 0.152 0.143 0.157
30 0.274 0.173 0.205 0.170 0.262 0.180 0.233
40 0.285 0.127 0.327 0.234 0.283 0.173 0.309
50 0.373 0.411 0.729 0.378 0.341 0.420 0.601
60 0.742 0.253 0.585 0.465 0.350 0.290 0.431
70 0.987 0.350 0.385 0.638 0.937 0.222 0.829
Wavelength (nm) 526.00 534.23 526.20 536.32 531.90 535.36 526.90
In beetroot cells the red anthocyanin pigment occurs in the vacuoles. Each vacuole is surrounded by a membrane and outside it the cytoplasm is surrounded by the plasma membrane. These membranes are too thin to be seen but we can draw certain conclusions about their properties.
Hypothesis; Membranes of the beetroot cells are composed of phospholipid bilayers. These form a stable fluid mosaic and retain their contents. The fluidity of the mosaic increases with temperature and high temperatures may result in the membrane becoming unstable. This would cause the anthocyanin pigment to leak …show more content…
from the cells.
The table above shows the raw results of the temperature that each core was left at against the absorption of green light by the solution. With these results from each individual group will allow us to calculate standard deviation and the mean.
Processed Data:
• Table two; shows the mean absorption of the green pigment and the temperature/standard deviation
Temperature ͦC (+/- 1 ͦC) Mean of absorption (+/- 0.001) Standard
Deviation of absorption of pigment (+/- 0.001) 20 0.155 0.031
30 0.214 0.040
40 0.248 0.069
50 0.465 0.133
60 0.445 0.160
70 0.621 0.284
Table two is used to show standard deviations which can be done automatically in excel and the mean which was found by doing an average of all of the results gained during the experiment.
Also, standard deviation can be found by using the formula below;
Graph one:
Graph one is used to show how the cores were treated against the mean absorption of light
Graph one compares the amount of green light that was absorbed by the solution (+/- 0.0001) to the temperature ͦC (+/- 1 ͦC). The results for the graph above was taken from the table above, the bigger the temperature the more green light was absorbed through the cell membrane. The average absorption of the blue light has to pass through the plasma membrane of the beetroot plant which will allow us to see how the temperature will affect the red pigment. The average is found by adding up the group’s results and dividing it by the number of results.
Conclusion:
To conclude, our hypothesis is proved true due to the fluidity of the fluid mosaic which increases with temperature. The high temperature allows the membrane to become unstable allowing the red pigment to leak from the cells. As the temperature of the distilled water increased, the amount of anthocyanin (red pigment) released from the beetroot increased as well. This leads to a bigger absorption of green light which we measured by using the colorimeter. This is due because ¨A cell membranes main function is one of structure and containment, and in this case the strength of this structure in relation to temperature changes and the containment of the pigment anthocyanin¨ The membrane becomes more permeable when the fluidity of the phospholipids increase. “If the temperature is too hot the membrane changes shape, and makes holes it is damaged and the anthocyanin leaks out, the more damage the more leakage.” Also, the purple pigment leaks from beetroot. “Plant cells are surrounded by cellulose cell walls. When you cut through a piece of plant tissue, you cut through some of the cell walls and rupture the cell contents. The pigment then leaks out. The fact that it does not continue to leak suggests that further cells are not being damaged. If the beetroot tissue is treated with increasing temperatures, as the temperature rises, the phospholipid bilayer of the cell-surface membrane and the vacuole membrane will be disrupted. This means that the vacuole contents will more readily leak into the water in the test tube. The higher the temperature, the greater the disruption to the plasma membranes and the more pigment will leak out.” After researching over how light is absorbed by the beetroot and comparing it to previous experiments online the results turned out the same. Although we could have made simple mistakes as a class our results still showed that there was a positive correlation.
Evaluation:
Issue Explanation of Problem Improvement
Temperature wasn’t constant Getting the temperature to be exactly 20, 30, 40, 50, 60 and 70 degrees was difficult to keep constant. When the beetroot was taken out of the water it cooled very quickly which could have altered the results. This could cause the releasing of red pigment from the beetroot to differ. Trying to keep the same constant temperature could be difficult but if the water bath would allow a stand to hold the tube it would permit each group to keep it at a constant temperature and get accurate results for the experiment.
Beetroots weren’t the same size Each group cut their own beetroots making it very simple for us to make an error. It was very hard to make the beetroot the perfect size which could lead to a change in the results in how much pigment was released due to an increase/decrease in the size. Cutting the beetroots and trying to have them be the same size can be difficult but by adding time to calculate the mass could allow us to have precise results.
Amount of distilled water varied When measuring the amount of water in the test tube an error could have easily been made pouring too much or too little. The more water a single test tube has an impact on the amount of red pigment released. Having several test tubes to measure the distilled water could make the experiment more effective. Also, more time could allow us to not make careless errors when measuring the water.
Not enough time to perform complete experiment in one day As a class, we performed the experiment over a two day period.
Day one consisted of cutting the beetroots and placing them at each temperature while day two was used to measure how much green light was absorbed by the colorimeter. This could have affected the results because light could have reached the tubes causing some of the pigment to be damaged and not give accurate results. There are not many solutions for this but I suggest that we perform the lab experiment with sufficient time to do all of it in one day permitting more exact results on how much green light will be
absorbed.
Beetroots might have been taken outside of the water before it was time Like stated in the previous issue the beetroots might have not been in the test tube for the right amount of time due to the rush to get it finished or getting out of the test tube. This alters the results because leaving the beetroot in the water allows more of the pigment to be released. Students could either have tongs to take out the beetroot at the adequate time and to have a stopwatch for each test tube allowing students to visualize how much time they have and be able to take the beetroot out in time.
Bibliography (work cited):
"Investigating the Effect of Temperature on Plant Cell Membranes." Nuffield Foundation |. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 Jan. 2014.
"Absorbance of Beetroot Pigment Using Visible Spectrophotometer." Absorbance of Beetroot Pigment Using Visible Spectrophotometer. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 Jan. 2014.
"How Temperature Effects the Movement of Pigment Through Cell Membranes :: Papers."How Temperature Effects the Movement of Pigment Through Cell Membranes :: Papers. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 Jan. 2014.
"Beetroot Contains Red Pigments Called Betalains, Located within the Cell Vacuole. Normally the Pigments Can 't Pass through Membranes but They Leak out When the Beetroot Is Cooked." Get A-Level Coursework and Essays Help from Marked By Teachers.com.