Cellular Respiration Lab Report
What Is Cellular Respiration and What Influences It’s Function?
BSC 2010L
06/19/2013
Abstract:
Eating is a basic essential of life that most people don’t pay much mind till they’re hungry. Eating is essential and very important for various reasons but one of the main reasons is for energy. Our bodies use a term called cellular respiration which is the process by which chemical energy of food is released and partially captured in the form of ATP or energy. Throughout the experiment that was conducted the principles of cellular respiration and how temperature affects it was evaluated through the use of crickets. The experiment begins with the obtaining of 10 adults live crickets and placing them in a 250 …show more content…
mL respiration chamber. The necessary weights of the crickets and the respiration chamber were obtained and the process will be explained later in this report. After obtaining weights the experiment of how temperature affects cellular respiration began by measuring the production of Co2 released from the crickets. The system used was a logger Pro System and a Co2 sensor.
The crickets were exposed to various temperatures in the order of an ice bath at of 4° C to a cold water bath of 15°C and then water baths with temperatures in the order of 26°C , 30°C, 35°C, 40°C and 45°C. The amount of Co2 at each temperature was recorded and used to graph results of the experiment.
Introduction:
Energy is the ability to cause change, an example being the ability to do work (). Without energy life would really not exist. There are two main types of energy one being potential energy which is stored energy and kinetic energy which is energy in motion. Regardless of the types of energy all living things acquire energy through the same methods with the most abundant supply of energy coming from cellular respiration. Cellular respiration is the catabolic pathways of aerobic and anaerobic respiration, which breaks down organic molecules and uses an electron transport chain to produce ATP(). In basic terms cellular respiration is the process our cells uses to break down foods we eat especially sugars into a form of energy that the cell can use. Cellular respiration is key for cells to be able to perform and happens in 3 stages. Glycolysis, which is the …show more content…
breaking down of sugars which takes place in the cytosol of the cell. Next there is a preparatory phase before stage two in which a 2-carbon acetyl group binds to coenzyme producing acetyl-CoA and then enters the second stage called the kreb cycle. The kreb cycle occurs in the matrix of a double membrane organelle called the Mitochondria. In the kreb cycle completes the breaking of glucose that started in glycolysis by oxidizing acetyl CoA to carbon dioxide. The final stage of cellular respiration is oxidative phosphorylation, which happens in the folds of the mitochondria. These folds are called cristae and maximize surface area for production of ATP. In oxidative phosphorylation electrons from glycolysis and the kreb cycle are carried via NADH and FADH2 (which are electron transporters) to the electron transport chain. It is here where ATP is mostly produced, this happens because a hydrogen gradient is formed and an enzyme called ATP synthase makes ATP. In cellular respiration atoms of sugar molecules are released as carbon dioxide, which was tested in the experiment with the use of ten adult crickets. Crickets are considered ectotherms, ectotherms have a connection with their external environment and their metabolic rate. One example of an external environment that ectotherms adjust to is the temperature outside; this is why many reptiles seem to move slower on cold mornings or anytime throughout the day when the temperatures are colder. Some common examples of ectotherms are reptiles and the crickets used throughout this experiment.
Materials and Methods:
The experiment of measuring carbon dioxide production of the crickets began with the setting up of the Logger Pro system and carbon dioxide sensor that was to be used. Next 10 adult crickets were obtained and places in a 250 ml respiration chamber. Prior to placing the crickets in the respiration chamber it was weighed without the crickets and then reweighed with the crickets. The weight without the crickets was subtracted from the weight with the crickets and the mass of the crickets was recorded for use later in the experiment. After attaching the carbon dioxide sensor to the respiratory chamber the crickets were placed in water baths of different temperatures. The first temperature that was tested was an ice bath. The ice bath was prepared by half way filling a 1 liter beakers with ice and then the temperature was measured with a thermometer, the temperature was 4°C and was recorded and then the respiration chamber was placed in the beaker. A timer was set for 3 minutes and once the 3 minutes were done our data collection began by pressing the “collect” button, we collected data for 3 minutes and then ended the data collection. At the end of this stage of the experiment all crickets appeared lifeless with lack of movement. The respiration chamber containing the crickets was removed from the ice bath and then sat at normal room temperature for 6 minutes. After the 6 minutes the crickets appeared to come back to life ad began moving again. The next temperature that was tested was a 15°C water bath, this water bath was prepared by filling a 1 liter beaker up to 300 ml with 15°C water and a handful of ice. This mixture was stirred and a thermometer was placed in the water to check the temperature. Once the temperature of the water was at 15°C he respiratory chamber with he crickets was placed in the water bath and after waiting 3 minutes data collection began by pressing the “collect” button. Data was collected for 3 minutes and then stopped and recorded. Once again the crickets appeared lifeless and were sat out at normal room temperature for 6 minutes till they regained movement and appeared to have life. The remaining temperatures of room temperature at 26°C, 30°C, 35°C, 40°C, and 45°C were done with water baths according to each temperature. Some temperatures were not exactly the ones called for for this experiment, examples being 34°C, 39°C and 44.5°C. The only difference with these temperatures was that the 1 Liter beaker was filled to 650 mL as oppose to 300 mL. Once the last temperature of 44.5°C data was recorded all materials including the Logger Pro systems, carbon dioxide sensor, the beakers, respiratory chamber, and crickets were returned to their appropriate areas.
Discussion:
Crickets were used during this experiment because of the fact that they are ectotherms. Being that they are ectotherms they have the ability to adjust their metabolic rate according to their external environment. One method of measuring cellular respiration is to record the release of carbon dioxide that an animal expels at different temperatures which was done throughout this experiment. The measure of carbon dioxide can be used to detect the rate of respiration because during cellular respiration food molecules like glucose are oxidized and carbon dioxide and water are released.
The expectations of this experiment were for the rate of respiration to increase as the temperature of the water baths that the crickets were placed in increased.
As observed in the Table 1 provided this was not always the case. The respiration rate of the ice bath with a temperature of 4°C was higher then the rate of the cold water bath of 15°C. Reason for this could be that the crickets were not able to acclimate their body temperature in the 6 minutes that they sat at room temperature after they were removed from the ice bath. After the cold water bath one can see on the Table 1 how the respiration rate increased as the water bath temperature increased. This continues all the way until the water bath of 39°C in which the respiration decreased. There are various reasons that could have caused this to happen, such as human error by not placing the carbon dioxide sensor correctly into the respiration chamber or not immersing the respiration chamber as deep into the water bath. Also, there could have been a reoccurrence of the possible earlier error of not giving the crickets enough time to acclimate. As expected and shown on Table 1 the highest rate of respiration was at 44.5°C with a respiration rate of 139.10
ppm/min/g.
To conclude, this experiment showed that cellular respiration rate is affected by temperature. The crickets in this experiment were ectotherms and had to rely on their outer environment and released different amounts of carbon dioxide at different temperatures, which was calculated using the Logger pro system and carbon dioxide sensor. The crickets displayed lack of lifelike signs such as lack of movement at low temperatures such as 4°C and 15°C. This lack of movement shows how crickets being ectotherms lower their metabolism and respiratory rate to adjust to extreme temperatures. At the higher temperatures like 44.5°C the crickets absorbed more heat into their bodies and this increase in heat allowed for more energy for the cells to do work, such as respiration.
Literature Cited
Reece, Jane B., et al. Campbell Biology. 9th edition; International edition. Harlow: Pearson Education, 2011.
BSC 2010L
06/19/2013
Abstract:
Eating is a basic essential of life that most people don’t pay much mind till they’re hungry. Eating is essential and very important for various reasons but one of the main reasons is for energy. Our bodies use a term called cellular respiration which is the process by which chemical energy of food is released and partially captured in the form of ATP or energy. Throughout the experiment that was conducted the principles of cellular respiration and how temperature affects it was evaluated through the use of crickets. The experiment begins with the obtaining of 10 adults live crickets and placing them in a 250 …show more content…
mL respiration chamber. The necessary weights of the crickets and the respiration chamber were obtained and the process will be explained later in this report. After obtaining weights the experiment of how temperature affects cellular respiration began by measuring the production of Co2 released from the crickets. The system used was a logger Pro System and a Co2 sensor.
The crickets were exposed to various temperatures in the order of an ice bath at of 4° C to a cold water bath of 15°C and then water baths with temperatures in the order of 26°C , 30°C, 35°C, 40°C and 45°C. The amount of Co2 at each temperature was recorded and used to graph results of the experiment.
Introduction:
Energy is the ability to cause change, an example being the ability to do work (). Without energy life would really not exist. There are two main types of energy one being potential energy which is stored energy and kinetic energy which is energy in motion. Regardless of the types of energy all living things acquire energy through the same methods with the most abundant supply of energy coming from cellular respiration. Cellular respiration is the catabolic pathways of aerobic and anaerobic respiration, which breaks down organic molecules and uses an electron transport chain to produce ATP(). In basic terms cellular respiration is the process our cells uses to break down foods we eat especially sugars into a form of energy that the cell can use. Cellular respiration is key for cells to be able to perform and happens in 3 stages. Glycolysis, which is the …show more content…
breaking down of sugars which takes place in the cytosol of the cell. Next there is a preparatory phase before stage two in which a 2-carbon acetyl group binds to coenzyme producing acetyl-CoA and then enters the second stage called the kreb cycle. The kreb cycle occurs in the matrix of a double membrane organelle called the Mitochondria. In the kreb cycle completes the breaking of glucose that started in glycolysis by oxidizing acetyl CoA to carbon dioxide. The final stage of cellular respiration is oxidative phosphorylation, which happens in the folds of the mitochondria. These folds are called cristae and maximize surface area for production of ATP. In oxidative phosphorylation electrons from glycolysis and the kreb cycle are carried via NADH and FADH2 (which are electron transporters) to the electron transport chain. It is here where ATP is mostly produced, this happens because a hydrogen gradient is formed and an enzyme called ATP synthase makes ATP. In cellular respiration atoms of sugar molecules are released as carbon dioxide, which was tested in the experiment with the use of ten adult crickets. Crickets are considered ectotherms, ectotherms have a connection with their external environment and their metabolic rate. One example of an external environment that ectotherms adjust to is the temperature outside; this is why many reptiles seem to move slower on cold mornings or anytime throughout the day when the temperatures are colder. Some common examples of ectotherms are reptiles and the crickets used throughout this experiment.
Materials and Methods:
The experiment of measuring carbon dioxide production of the crickets began with the setting up of the Logger Pro system and carbon dioxide sensor that was to be used. Next 10 adult crickets were obtained and places in a 250 ml respiration chamber. Prior to placing the crickets in the respiration chamber it was weighed without the crickets and then reweighed with the crickets. The weight without the crickets was subtracted from the weight with the crickets and the mass of the crickets was recorded for use later in the experiment. After attaching the carbon dioxide sensor to the respiratory chamber the crickets were placed in water baths of different temperatures. The first temperature that was tested was an ice bath. The ice bath was prepared by half way filling a 1 liter beakers with ice and then the temperature was measured with a thermometer, the temperature was 4°C and was recorded and then the respiration chamber was placed in the beaker. A timer was set for 3 minutes and once the 3 minutes were done our data collection began by pressing the “collect” button, we collected data for 3 minutes and then ended the data collection. At the end of this stage of the experiment all crickets appeared lifeless with lack of movement. The respiration chamber containing the crickets was removed from the ice bath and then sat at normal room temperature for 6 minutes. After the 6 minutes the crickets appeared to come back to life ad began moving again. The next temperature that was tested was a 15°C water bath, this water bath was prepared by filling a 1 liter beaker up to 300 ml with 15°C water and a handful of ice. This mixture was stirred and a thermometer was placed in the water to check the temperature. Once the temperature of the water was at 15°C he respiratory chamber with he crickets was placed in the water bath and after waiting 3 minutes data collection began by pressing the “collect” button. Data was collected for 3 minutes and then stopped and recorded. Once again the crickets appeared lifeless and were sat out at normal room temperature for 6 minutes till they regained movement and appeared to have life. The remaining temperatures of room temperature at 26°C, 30°C, 35°C, 40°C, and 45°C were done with water baths according to each temperature. Some temperatures were not exactly the ones called for for this experiment, examples being 34°C, 39°C and 44.5°C. The only difference with these temperatures was that the 1 Liter beaker was filled to 650 mL as oppose to 300 mL. Once the last temperature of 44.5°C data was recorded all materials including the Logger Pro systems, carbon dioxide sensor, the beakers, respiratory chamber, and crickets were returned to their appropriate areas.
Discussion:
Crickets were used during this experiment because of the fact that they are ectotherms. Being that they are ectotherms they have the ability to adjust their metabolic rate according to their external environment. One method of measuring cellular respiration is to record the release of carbon dioxide that an animal expels at different temperatures which was done throughout this experiment. The measure of carbon dioxide can be used to detect the rate of respiration because during cellular respiration food molecules like glucose are oxidized and carbon dioxide and water are released.
The expectations of this experiment were for the rate of respiration to increase as the temperature of the water baths that the crickets were placed in increased.
As observed in the Table 1 provided this was not always the case. The respiration rate of the ice bath with a temperature of 4°C was higher then the rate of the cold water bath of 15°C. Reason for this could be that the crickets were not able to acclimate their body temperature in the 6 minutes that they sat at room temperature after they were removed from the ice bath. After the cold water bath one can see on the Table 1 how the respiration rate increased as the water bath temperature increased. This continues all the way until the water bath of 39°C in which the respiration decreased. There are various reasons that could have caused this to happen, such as human error by not placing the carbon dioxide sensor correctly into the respiration chamber or not immersing the respiration chamber as deep into the water bath. Also, there could have been a reoccurrence of the possible earlier error of not giving the crickets enough time to acclimate. As expected and shown on Table 1 the highest rate of respiration was at 44.5°C with a respiration rate of 139.10
ppm/min/g.
To conclude, this experiment showed that cellular respiration rate is affected by temperature. The crickets in this experiment were ectotherms and had to rely on their outer environment and released different amounts of carbon dioxide at different temperatures, which was calculated using the Logger pro system and carbon dioxide sensor. The crickets displayed lack of lifelike signs such as lack of movement at low temperatures such as 4°C and 15°C. This lack of movement shows how crickets being ectotherms lower their metabolism and respiratory rate to adjust to extreme temperatures. At the higher temperatures like 44.5°C the crickets absorbed more heat into their bodies and this increase in heat allowed for more energy for the cells to do work, such as respiration.
Literature Cited
Reece, Jane B., et al. Campbell Biology. 9th edition; International edition. Harlow: Pearson Education, 2011.