GalileaPatricio

Amountoftimeforasystemtobecomeanoxicatroomandhightemperatures.

The concentration of dissolved oxygen in water is impacted by various factors such

as salinity, organic matter, and temperature. Organic matter such as animal, industrial,
agricultural, and urban waste enters the water as runoff where it is then broken down by
decomposers. All the dissolved organic matter contains carbohydrates, fats, and proteins,
the bacteria ambush this organic matter for food and consume oxygen in the process.
Excessive amounts of waste in water sources increases bacterial activity which depletes
the water of dissolved oxygen making life for other organisms difficult. As other plants and
animalsdiethedecompositionprocesscontinuesfurtherdepletingthewaterofoxygen.

PreLabQuestions:
1. Twosourcesofdissolvedorganicmatterinrunofffromurbanareasarepetwaste
andresidentiallitteringsuchasleaves,grassclippings,andlawn/gardening
fertilizers.
2. Twosourcesofdissolvedorganicmatterinrunofffromagriculturalareasare
fertilizers,whichcontainnitrogenandphosphorus,andpesticides.

ExperimentalQuestion
Whatinfluencestheconcentrationofoxygendissolvedinwater?

Hypothesis
If yeast and milk are heated within the same test tube, then the amount of dissolved oxygen
inthetesttubewillbeconsumedatafasterratethanatroomtemperature.

Protocol:
1. Make a milk solution by adding two leveled teaspoons of powdered milk into 40 mL
ofwater.
2. Inanotherbeakermakeayeastsolutionbyfollowingthestep1(withoutmilk)
3. Preparea20:1dilutionofMethyleneBlueinanotherbeaker.
4. Usefourtesttubestotestthefollowingprocedures:
a. Testtube#110mLofmilk,10mLofwater,and5mLofMethyleneBlue.
b. Testtube#210mLofmilk,10mLofyeast,and5mLofMethyleneBlue.
c. Testtube#310mLofyeast,10mLofwater,and5mLofMethyleneBlue.
d. Test tube #410 mL of milk, 10 mL of yeast, and 5 mL of Methylene Blue.
(solutionwillbeheated).
5. BegintimingthereactionwhentheMethyleneBlueisaddedtotesttubes.
6. Recordthetimewhenthesolutioninthetesttubesisnolongerblue.

GalileaPatricio
DataTable
TestTubes 0minutes 5minutes 10minutes
Testtube#1
(control)
Bluefromthe
MethyleneBlue.
Nochange Nochange
Testtube#2 Bluefromthe
MethyleneBlue.
Nooxygenat6:03 Nooxygen
Testtube#3 Bluefromthe
MethyleneBlue.
Nooxygenat6:00 Nooxygen
Testtube#4
(heatedto40
o
C)
Bluefromthe
MethyleneBlue.
Nooxygenat3:24 Nooxygen

Graph

GalileaPatricio
ConclusionwithPostLabQuestions
The initial hypothesis, If yeast and milk are heated within the same test tube, then
the amount of dissolved oxygen in the test tube will be consumed at a faster rate than at
room temperature, was correct. Bacteria break down organic matter to obtain their
nutrients and consume copious amounts of oxygen in the process. The preparation of yeast
and milk solutions will represent the effects of oxygen loss in water sources due to
excessive amounts of organic matter. The 40 mL solutions of milk and yeast were
prepared in separate beakers to prevent the yeast from consuming the milk for food. The
solutions for the experiment were mixed in the test tubes, test tube #1 contained only 10
mL of the milk solution with 10 mL of water and 5 mL of Methylene Blue. Test tube #2
contained 10 mL of the milk and yeast solutions and 5 mL of Methylene Blue. Test tube #3
contained 10 mL of the yeast solution with 10 mL of water and 5 mL of Methylene Blue.
Test tube #4 contained the same solutions as in test tube #2, but heated throughout the
process. This heated solution proved the initial hypothesis correct, the heated environment
enabled the bacteria to break down the milk and consume oxygen at a faster rate than test
tube#2whichremainedatroomtemperaturethroughouttheprocess.
The test tubes that contained the most food for the decaying organisms were #2
and #4 because they both contained the same amount of milk solution for the yeast
to consume. The tube with the lease food was test tube #3 because it only
containedyeast,therewasnofoodtobreakdownforittoconsume.
even though the rest of the liquid was no longer blue, the test tubes had a remaining
ring of blue at the surface because of the surfaces contact with air. Oxygen diffuses
between where the surface of the solution and air make contact, this provides for the
ringofblue,evidenceforthepresenceofoxygen.
The color change occurred the fastest in test tube #4 as was expected. This tube
was heated on a hot plate to a temperature of 40
o
C (104
o
C) which increased yeast
breakdownofthemilksolutionandconsumptionofoxygen.
The availability of food within the test tubes made the amount of time in which the
solutionbecameanoxic,varysubstantially.
An increase of temperature to the minisystems would speed the rate of oxygen
consumption by the yeast. This can further analysed by comparing the amount of
timeitwouldtakeforacoldsystemtobecomeanoxic.
If more decomposers (yeast) had been present at the beginning of the experiment
thenitwouldtakelesstimeforthesystemstobecomeanoxic.
The supply of dissolved oxygen in a river would substantially decrease as
decomposers continued to multiply. As these organisms multiply the dissolved
oxygenwouldbeconsumedmakinglifeforotherorganismsdifficult.