Beetroot Biology Experiment
Aim
To find out how the permeability of a beetroot membrane cell is affected by ethanol. To do this we will investigate different concentrations of alcohol (10-70%) and measure the absorbance using a colorimeter to show us how much juice has leaked out.
Hypothesis
I predict that as the concentration of ethanol goes up, the permeability will increase as the ethanol will slowly dissolve more phospholipids (lipid bilayer) and so more anthocyanin (the beetroot juice) will leak out of the membrane. So at 10% concentration the solution would be a lighter shade of red, with 70% concentration being the darkest shade of red. When using the colorimeter, the lower concentrations will have a value much smaller than the higher concentrations which will have higher values closer to 2. I predict that the rate of diffusion and ethanol concentration will be directly proportional.
Method
Followed the instructions that were given on the sheet (Activity 2.8). Slices of beetroot were left overnight to wash away excess dye and then placed into boiling tubes and left for 30 minutes to allow the beetroot juices to diffuse. The beetroot was then removed and we used the colorimeter to measure the % absorbance of the remaining liquid.
Results
% Concentration of Ethanol 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70
% Absorbance 0.4* 0.3 0.6 0.72 1.07 1* 1.72 1.71*
I can see that already the results are following a general trend as I can see a positive correlation with the absorbance increasing, which is what I expected. However there seem to be a few anomalies that do not completely fit the trend and I have labelled them on the results graph and the table. 0% concentration should not be 0.4 because it has no alcohol in it, and the membrane should not have been permeable at all – this is probably due to random error. We see a dip in the absorbance at 50% and I have labelled this is as an anomalous result because the absorbance should be more than 40%. Finally, the 70% concentration has
To find out how the permeability of a beetroot membrane cell is affected by ethanol. To do this we will investigate different concentrations of alcohol (10-70%) and measure the absorbance using a colorimeter to show us how much juice has leaked out.
Hypothesis
I predict that as the concentration of ethanol goes up, the permeability will increase as the ethanol will slowly dissolve more phospholipids (lipid bilayer) and so more anthocyanin (the beetroot juice) will leak out of the membrane. So at 10% concentration the solution would be a lighter shade of red, with 70% concentration being the darkest shade of red. When using the colorimeter, the lower concentrations will have a value much smaller than the higher concentrations which will have higher values closer to 2. I predict that the rate of diffusion and ethanol concentration will be directly proportional.
Method
Followed the instructions that were given on the sheet (Activity 2.8). Slices of beetroot were left overnight to wash away excess dye and then placed into boiling tubes and left for 30 minutes to allow the beetroot juices to diffuse. The beetroot was then removed and we used the colorimeter to measure the % absorbance of the remaining liquid.
Results
% Concentration of Ethanol 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70
% Absorbance 0.4* 0.3 0.6 0.72 1.07 1* 1.72 1.71*
I can see that already the results are following a general trend as I can see a positive correlation with the absorbance increasing, which is what I expected. However there seem to be a few anomalies that do not completely fit the trend and I have labelled them on the results graph and the table. 0% concentration should not be 0.4 because it has no alcohol in it, and the membrane should not have been permeable at all – this is probably due to random error. We see a dip in the absorbance at 50% and I have labelled this is as an anomalous result because the absorbance should be more than 40%. Finally, the 70% concentration has