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INTERNATIONAL EDUCATION CENTRE

(INTEC)

BIOLOGY LABORATORY REPORT
A LEVEL PROGRAMME




Name : Ahmad Luqman Bin Md Asri
IC Number : 950202146067
Group : 11SC1
SID Number : 1311170102
Title : The Effect of Temperature on Membranes
Date of Experiment : 28/9/2013
Date of Submission : 4/9/2013
Lecturer: : Puan Lili Syahani Binti Rusli



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Title: The Effect of Temperature on Membranes.
Objective:
1. To investigate the effect of temperature on membrane structure.
2. To highlight experimental and investigative skill.
Introduction:
A cell membrane is a thin structure that surrounds the whole cell. It is made up primarily
of phospholipids and proteins which contribute to its selectively permeable nature. The function
and permeability of the cell membrane depends on its intact structure. When destroyed, the
permeability of the cell membrane is disrupted causing cellular contents to leak out. The cell
membrane can be destroyed by physical damage, chemicals and high temperature. High
temperature disrupts the structure of proteins and certain chemicals such as fat solvents dissolve
the phospholipids, leading to damage of the membrane and therefore increased permeability.
In this experiment, we are going to use beetroot to investigate the effect of temperature
on cell membrane. Beetroot contains a red pigment called betalains, which is located in the large
central vacuole of the beetroot cells. The vacuole is enclosed by a single membrane called the
tonoplast and the whole cell is enclosed by the cell membrane made up of phospholipids and
proteins. Betalains will remain inside the vacuoles of intact cells. However, if the membranes are
damaged, betacyanin will leak out and produce a red/dark pink colour in the surrounding water.
Cut cylinders of beetroot are used in this experiment. After that, we are going to use colorimeter
to get the readings.

Problem Statement:
Is the high temperature of water will damage the cell membrane of beetroot?
Hypothesis:
The higher the water temperature, more pigments leak into the water and become dark red.

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Variables:

Apparatus:
Cork borer, white tile, knife, ruler, forceps, water baths at 30, 40, 50, 60, boiling tube rack, 12
boiling tubes, thermometer, spectrometer, cuvettes, stopwatch, pipette, measuring cylinder.
Materials:
Raw beetroot, distilled water.
Procedure:
1. Cut sections from a single beetroot using a cork borer. Cut twelve 1 cm length slices from
these sections.
2. Place twelve labeled boiling tubes each containing 5 cm
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distilled water into water baths
at 30
o
C, 40
o
C, 50
o
C , and 60
o
C. Leave for 5 minutes until the water reaches the
required temperature. Place one of the cut beetroot into each of the boiling tubes. Leave
for 30 minutes in the water baths.
3. Remove the beetroot sections and shake the tubes to disperse the dye in the water.
4. Switch on the spectrometer and set it to read % absorbance.
5. Set the filter dial to the blue/green filter.
6. Using a 5 ml measuring cylinder, accurately measure 3 cm
3
distilled water into the
cuvette. Place the cuvette into the colorimeter, making sure that the light is shining
through the smooth sides.
7. Adjust the spectrometer to read zero absorbance for clear water. Do not alter the setting
again during the experiment.
8. Place 3 cm
3
of the dye solution into a cuvette and take a reading for absorbency. Repeat
the readings for all the temperatures.

Manipulated variable : Different temperature of water bath.
Responding variable : The colorimeter readings.
Constant variable : Volume of water inside the boiling tubes.
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Results:
Formula for average readings obtained (ml)

= Reading 1 + Reading 2 + Reading 3
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Experiment (A)
Temperature
o
C
Spectrometer reading (% absorbance of light)
Observation 1 2 3 Average
30 0.407 0.367 0.403 0.392 Pale pink
40 0.411 0.454 0.423 0.429 Pink
50 0.479 0.506 0.486 0.490 Pink
60 0.514 0.508 0.544 0.522 Red

Table 1
Discussion:
In this experiment, beetroot is used as the sample to study the effect of temperature on the
cell membrane. We used size 8 cork borer and we slice the beetroot into 12 sections which are
measured 1 cm each. Each of the sections are put in boiling tubes that have been filled with 5cm
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of distilled water. We put 3 boiling tubes inside the water bath for each temperature so that we
can calculate the average in order to minimize the error. 3 cm
3
of the solutions from each boiling
tubes are put into the cuvettes before we put them one by one into the spectrometer to get the
readings.
Spectrometer functions to measure the absorbance of particular wavelengths of light by a
specific solution. As the colour of solution become darker, more light is absorbed by the solution.
As we can see from the result table, as the temperature increased, the intensity of colour
of the solution increased. This will result the higher colorimeter reading for the darker solution
which is exactly what happen in the experiment. The high temperature of solution damages the
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cell membrane of the beetroot and release the red pigment into the water. So, the higher the
temperature, the darker the solution will be, and the higher the reading of spectrometer.
Several precautions have been taken into account during the execution of the experiment.
Based on general laboratory rules, we have to wear lab coats, wear non-canvas shoes and tie our
hair if the hair is too long. Use cork borer with care and when dealing with hot water bath, use
forceps to put boiling tubes or remove them.
Evaluation
There is a limitation and error in the experiment. There may be random errors occur
during the cutting of beetroot into 1 cm beetroot section. This may affect the intensity of colour
of the solution after the boiling tubes are put in the water baths. So, the result may not be
hundred percent accurate.
Conclusion:
As the conclusion, the boiling tube that was put inside the water bath with 60
o
C has the
higher spectrometer reading. It is indicating that the beetroot section inside the boiling tube has
the most pigment leakage due to high temperature.
The hypothesis is accepted.
Bibliography:
1. http://www.nuffieldfoundation.org/practical-biology/investigating-effect-temperature-
plant-cell-membranes
2. http://www.studymode.com/essays/The-Effects-Of-Temperature-On-Beetroot-
399734.html
3. The Nuffield Foundation 2003. March 30, 2003.





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