The effect of temperature on Membranes (Beetroot Lab)
The aim of this lab was to determine the stress that various temperatures have on biological membranes. This was done through experimenting with beetroots and looking to see whether various temperatures affected the color in which beetroots changed/turned into.
Raw Data
Table 1: How various temperature of water affects the rate of light of absorbance
Temperature of water (+/-0.5 °C)
Absorbance value of beetroot in various temperatures (+/-0.005 Abs) Trial 1 Trial 2 Trial 3 Trial 4 Trial 5
5 0.155 0.111 0.122 0.153 0.136
30 0.232 0.191 0.124 0.189 0.212
45 0.144 0.283 0.133 0.152 0.287
60 0.291 0.241 0.245 0.278 0.265
75 0.426 0.309 0.333 0.478 0.384
Qualitative Data
During the experiment I realized that as the temperature of water increased the color of the beetroot intensified. This is because the beetroot membranes are damaged, making the red pigment leak out into the surrounding environment. Whereas for lower temperatures I had realized the color of
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The data that was recorded is accurate because everything was to three decimal places. Not to mention, the specific and correct equipment was used; the colorimeter, in order to measure the rate of light of absorbance and I had a stopwatch which kept track of how long I had to place my beetroot in various temperatures. Moreover, I had prevented the water from cooling and used a water bath to keep the temperature at a steady rate. Last but not least, I would also clean the small-glassed bottle, which the water and beetroot was in after every trial so no stain would remain and to prevent any sort of interference within my experiment. Some of the limitations in this experiment are placed in the table below with possible improvement for next time I conduct this or a similar