BIOL-1002

8 NOV 2010

I. Aerobic Respiration in Peas

II.
Matthew Schiavo III.
Introduction
Aerobic respiration is a metabolic process that converts the chemical energy of carbohydrates to the chemical energy of ATP (Pendola 52). Its reactants include glucose (a carbohydrate) and oxygen. Oxygen is necessary for cellular enzymes to generate ATP. The reaction starts in the cytoplasm, undergoing a process known as glycolysis, where glucose is converted into pyruvic acid. This process continues into the mitochondria, where the pyruvic acid is converted into carbon dioxide and hydrogen atoms, via acetyl-CoA breakdown, which enter into the electron transport chain (Starr, Taggart, Evers, Starr 137) The nal products: carbon dioxide, water, and most importantly, ATP. The laboratory exercise tests whether or not aerobic respiration occurs in both germinating (live) and dried (dead) peas, which will be determined by measuring the oxygen consumption of the peas. Given the knowledge that living plants must consume oxygen to carry out aerobic respiration (Wikipedia), the germinating peas should exhibit more oxygen use than the dried peas.

IV.
Materials and Methods
As presented in the lab manual.

V.

Results

The following results show the aerobic respiration of both germinating and dried peas, measured by oxygen use in mL over time (in minutes). The germinating peas showed a far greater change in volume inside the respirometer, increasing from 0.00 mL at 0 minutes to 0.27 mL after 12 minutes; meanwhile, the volume in the dried peas respirometer never rose above 0.03 mL.

Time (Minutes)

Germinating Peas (Oxygen use in mL)

Dried Peas and Beads (Oxygen use in mL)

0 3 6 9 12

0.00 0.04 0.14 0.22 0.27

0.00 0.03 0.03 0.03 0.03

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BIOL-1002

8 NOV 2010

Dried Peas

Germinating Peas

0.30
0.27 0.22

0.23

Oxygen use (mL)

0.14

0.15
0 0 0.04 0.03 0.03

0.08
0.03

3 6

0.03

9 Time (minutes) 12

VI.
Conclusion
The hypothesis was true: the germinating peas indeed consumed more oxygen than the dried peas, as determined by the respirometers. This is because the germinating peas are alive and, therefore, carry out aerobic respiration at a far greater rate than the dead peas.

VII.
References
Starr, Cecie, Ralph Taggart, Christine Evers, and Lisa Starr. Cell Biology and Genetics. Twelfth Edition. Belmont: Brooks/Cole Cengage Learning, 2009. Print. Pendola, Richard G., Ph.D. Laboratory Manual for Biology 1002 Cellular. Second Edition. Providence: Community College of Rhode Island Biology Department, 2003. Print. Wikipedia contributors. Cellular respiration. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. 2010. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cellular_respiration

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