Frank Qian March

2nd

, 2012

Labs on Cell Membrane Function-Experiment #1

Purpose: To determine the effect of temperature on the rate of diffusion. Materials and Apparatus: 1.) Beakers 2.) Potassium Permanganate 3.) Timer 4.) Scoopula

5.) Camera

Procedure: See Labs on Cell Membrane Function handout, Winter 2012, Hatzinikou.

What is the best way to determine the sex of a chromosome? Pull down its genes!

Frank Qian March

2nd

, 2012

Observations: Table 1: Table 1 shows the recorded observations when potassium permanganate was put into different temperature solutions. Qualitative Observations of Potassium Permanganate within Different Temperature Solutions Time Elapsed (Minutes) Appearance (Cold=left, Hot=right) Description Both beakers are relatively the same colour with the purple immediately spreading faster in the hot beaker.

10

Cold: In the cold beaker solution the crystals are mostly concentrated at the bottom. There are a few that are floating up. Hot: In the hot water beaker the beaker is almost fully covered with the dark purple. Many crystals are rising up.

20

Cold: In the cold water the bottom is very dark now and there is a layer of floating crystals on the surface. Hot: In the hot beaker the bottom is also very dark purple now. However there are large clouds of crystals rising up and resemble a tornado shape.

30

Cold: The cold water beaker has remained somewhat unchanged, the bottom is still very dark but the entire beaker is almost all pink/light purple. Hot: The hot beaker is almost all dark purple now. The top layer appears almost as dark as the bottom layer as well now.

What is the best way to determine the sex of a chromosome? Pull down its genes!

Frank Qian March

2nd

, 2012

Analysis of Data/Discussion: During the experiment when the potassium permanganate was added, the clouds of purple were relatively equal with the hot water one a little larger. This could have been caused by different location of the crystals within the beakers. As time increased the hot water beaker had a faster spreading of the purple cloud. (KMnO4) The reason that the potassium permanganate spread faster in the hot beaker can be explained using the particle theory. Temperature is essentially a measurement of the speed at which particles are colliding. This friction is what produces heat, therefore a higher temperature means that the particles are colliding more frequently and moving faster. The KMnO4 ions in the cold water were moving more slowly than the ones in the hot beaker. The hot water caused the KMnO 4 particles to spread faster. The hot water possesses higher kinetic energy because of higher temperature and these random collisions occur with the KMnO4 particles moving them around more. Higher temperatures increase the rate of diffusion. This is important in biological processes because cell membranes use diffusion to get substances necessary for biological processes such as sugars. At higher temperatures, the rate of diffusion is higher which means a cell can obtain necessary substances faster. Atoms and molecules which pass through the selectively permeable membrane often move by facilitated diffusion. This moves along the concentration gradient therefore there is no energy required since it is a passive diffusion. Normally only certain molecules can pass through the protein channels integrated in the cell membrane. At higher temperatures the phospholipids in the cell membrane move around more frequently and randomly, which makes it easier for substances to pass through. Higher kinetic energy is useful during exercise because the outside molecules required for cellular respiration can be diffused through the membrane faster. The process of cellular respiration produces thermal energy and this increases temperature which will increase kinetic energy which will bring the molecules through the membrane faster. Source of Error: Since the hot water was not kept hot the temperature would have decreased as time went on due to cooling. This would affect the rate of cooling since the heat is dropping. Conclusion: Temperature is directly proportional to rate of diffusion. Higher temperature = higher rate of diffusion.

What is the best way to determine the sex of a chromosome? Pull down its genes!