Beetroot+experiment

Tan Pei Bing (24) 315 z __**Lab Report**__

**Title:** Beetroot experiment **Aim:** This experiment aims to explore the factors which affect the movement of materials in and out of the cells.

**Hypothesis:** I think that the beetroot in the tube that contains 4 ml of water will remain colourless, the beetroot in the tube that contains 4 ml of 25% alcohol will have a pinkist tinge, the beetroot in the tube that contains 4 ml of 50% alcohol will turn dark red and the beetroot of 4 ml of hot water (90 - 100 degrees) will turn light pink.

**Independent variable:** In this investigation, the independent variable is the solution in the tube that the beetroots were placed in.

**Constant variables:** The variables that were kept constant in this investigation:


 * Time taken for experiment
 * Same size of beetroot, same type of beetroot
 * Amount of solution beetroot is placed in
 * Same tubes the beetroot is placed in

**Dependent variable:** From the investigation, I wanted to see if the rate of diffusion would be affected by the surface area, the temperature and alcohol.

**Materials:** **Method:**
 * Razor/blade/scapel
 * Ruler
 * 5 test tubes and rack
 * Labels
 * Forceps
 * Distilled water
 * 25%, 50% alcohol
 * Beetroot (Beta vulgaris)
 * White tile (for cutting)
 * 2 petri dishes
 * 3 droppers (water, 25%, 50% alcohol)
 * Thermometer
 * 2 beakers
 * Supply of hot water
 * Spectrophotometer (Data logger)
 * Use a ruler and scapel to cut the cylinder of beetroot into 15 discs of 2 mm each.
 * Take 3 discs of beetroot and cut them further into smaller pieces.
 * Rinse the beetroot discs and pieces until the water is colourless.
 * Label and prepare 5 test tubes as follows: (A) 4 ml of water, (B) 4 ml of 25% alcohol,(C) 4 ml of 50% alcohol, (D) 4 ml of hot water, (E) 4 ml of water
 * Place 3 discs of beetroot in tube A - D and all the chopped beetroot in tube E using the forceps.
 * Leave the tubes to stand in your test tube rack for 15 minutes.
 * Write the prediction of what might happen in each tube.
 * Shake the tubes gently after 15 minutes and hold it against the white tile to note the colour. Record your observations in as table.
 * In the interim of the 15 minutes, switch on the data logger and collect data.
 * Decant a small amount of liquid from test tube A into a cuvette and place it into the colorimeter.
 * Repeat the steps.

**Results:**


 * Quantitative Data:


 * Tube || Content || Percentage of light that passed through (%) || Colour ||
 * A || 4 ml of water (control) || 99 || Colourless ||
 * B || 4 ml of 25% alcohol || 81.5 || Pinkish tinge ||
 * C || 4 ml of 50% alcohol || 16.5 || Dark red ||
 * D || 4 ml of hot water (90 – 100 degree Celsius) || 94.5 || Faint red ||
 * E || 4 ml of water || 97 || Colourless ||

Table 1: Qualitative and Quantitative results of beetroot experiment


 * Qualitative Data:
 * Qualitative Data:

__Analysis__ A allowed 99% of the light through whereas E only allowed 97% of light through. More diffusion occurred in A than in E as the beetroot in E was cut further into smaller pieces. The substance in A and E remained colourless. B and C had the lowest amount of light that passed through the liquid after 15 minutes. B (4 ml of 25% alcohol) allowed 81.5% of light to pass through and C (4 ml of 50% alcohol) allowed 16.5% of light to pass through. This shows that the concentration of alcohol can cause a difference in the rate of diffusion. In D (4 ml of hot water), the percentage of light that passed through was 94.5% which is lesser than A (water at room temperature) which allowed 99% of light to pass through. __Discussion__ Diffusion is a process whereby spontaneous movement defined as the spontaneous movement of particles down their concentration gradient, from regions of a higher concentration to a region of lower concentration. The changes in the external environment and the surface area of beetroot will affect the rate of diffusion. The first factor that affects the rate of diffusion is the external environment. Firstly, A (water in room temperature) could allow more light to pass through compared to D (hot water). When the discs are submerges in hot water, the higher temperature of water encourages diffusion to occur and speeds up the rater of diffusion. Also, the surface area of the beetroot will affect the rate of diffusion. The larger the surface area, the faster the rate of diffusion. For A and E, the beetroot was placed in water and the only changed variable is the surface area of beetroot. The beetroot in A was cut into 3 discs whereas the beetroot in E was further cut into 3 discs. As the results show, there is an increase in the rate of diffusion for E as compared to A. A larger surface area increases the rate of diffusion whereas the smaller surface area allows a slower rate of diffusion because a large surface area allows diffusion to occur any time in that area. The third factor is the type of liquid solvent that the beetroot was placed in. From the results shown, we can see that the rate of diffusion increases when the beetroot is put in alcohol than in water and the more concentrated the alcohol is, the higher the rate of diffusion. __Conclusion__ 1) As the temperature of the liquid solvent increases, the rate of diffusion increases. 2) As the percentage of alcohol increases, the rate of diffusion increases. 3**)** As the surface area increases, the rate of diffusion increases.

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