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BIOLOGY PRACTICAL:

DETERMINATION OF CHLORIDE IN URINE IN DIFFERENT CIRCUMSTANCES

Data Collection: Urine Fasting Fed Watered Initial/cm 30.9 36.4 39.6
3

Titration I Titration II 3 3 3 Final/cm Volume/cm Initial/cm Final/cm3 Volume/cm3 37.1 6.2 38.0 43.9 5.9 38.1 42.6 2.3 3.0 38.1 42.6 39.6 46.9 1.5 4.3

Data Processing: Urine Fasting Fed Watered Titration I 6.2 2.3 3.0 Volume of Urine (cm3) Titration II Average Volume 5.9 1.5 4.3 6.05 1.90 3.65

Calculation: Fasting Urine: Volume of KCNS required to precipitate unused AgNO3 Volume of AgNO3 precipitated by chloride in the urine = 6.05 cm3 = 10 6.05 = 3.95 cm3

The amount of chloride in the urine

0.1 3.95cm 3 1 35.5 g 100cm 3 1000 3 2 1000cm 3 = 701.125 mg/100cm =

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Fed Urine: Volume of KCNS required to precipitate unused AgNO3 Volume of AgNO3 precipitated by chloride in the urine = 1.90 cm3 = 10 1.90 = 8.10 cm3

The amount of chloride in the urine

0.1 8.10cm 3 1 35.5 g 100cm 3 1000 3 2 1000cm 3 = 1437.750 mg/100cm =

Watered Urine: Volume of KCNS required to precipitate unused AgNO3 Volume of AgNO3 precipitated by chloride in the urine = 3.65 cm3 = 10 3.65 = 6.35 cm3

The amount of chloride in the urine

0.1 6.35cm 3 1 35.5 g 100cm 3 1000 3 2 1000cm = 1127.125 mg/100cm3 =

Result: Urine Fasting Fed Watered Chloride Content 701.125 mg/100cm3 1437.750 mg/100cm3 1127.125 mg/100cm3

Kidneys have many roles in human and animal physiological system. Two of its major roles are excretion and osmoregulation. Excretion is the removal from body of the toxic waste products of metabolism. This experiment was conducted to investigate the excretion of excess chloride from our body. Kidneys will filter our blood and remove excess chloride from the blood. Chloride ions will then removed from our body in urine. From this experiment, it is clear that at different circumstances, the amounts of chloride in our body are different. It depends on the food and water intake. If there is too much chloride in our body, these chlorides will be secreted out and we will find out that our urine will be yellow in colour due to the high chloride content. However, if the amount of chloride in our body is slightly higher than the normal level, then only small amount of chloride will be excreted and our urine will be pale yellow in colour.

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Discussion: The result obtained shows that fed urine contained the highest amount of chloride (1437.750 mg/100cm3), followed by watered urine (1127.125 mg/100cm3). Fasting urine contained the least amount of chloride. Fed urine was taken from the donator about an hour after his meal. Consuming meals that contained salt would then result in the increase of chloride concentration in the blood. Excess chloride was excreted by the kidneys. Along the movement of glomerular filtrate in the nephron, chloride ion will be reabsorbed. The concentration gradient in the kidney determined the amount of chloride that to reabsorb. Since there were excess chloride in the body after the meal, less chloride was reabsorbed and the excess chloride propelled to the collecting tubule of the nephron and sent to the bladder. Thus the urine contained more chloride. Before the watered urine was taken from the donator, he had eaten instant noodles, a food that contained high amount of salt. As a result, even though he drank a lot of water before his urine was taken, still it contained quite high amount of chloride. Same as the fed urine, the watered urine also contained excess chloride excreted by the kidneys. For the fasting level urine, it contained the least amount of chloride. This is because it was taken before the donator had his meal. There was not much excess chloride in the body, so the urine contained less chloride compared to the other two urine samples. The kidneys only excreted some chloride as the rest will still be in the body to maintain blood osmotic pressure. If samples of my blood are taken at the same time as the two urine samples, the chloride content in the two blood samples would probably be the same. This is because our kidneys only excrete excess chloride. If the amount of chloride in the body is too much, our kidneys will the excess until the chloride level in our body is back to normal. If the chloride content in the body is slightly higher than the normal level, only a small amount of chloride will be excreted. So, no matter how much the chloride content in our urine is, the chloride content in our blood will be the same or at narrow limit if our kidney is functioning properly.

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Evaluation and Conclusion: Limitations and Drawbacks of the Experiment: 1. Determining the end point of the titration was a hard task. This is because the red colour of the solution kept forming and fading. 2. Parallax error when taking the measurement and reading during the titration might also happen causing inaccuracy in the result. 3. Some apparatus were used repeatedly for different samples of urine. Some of them were not cleaned properly. This would lead to contamination. Ways to Overcome Shortcomings: 1. The experiment should be repeated several times, especially the titration process. By taking the average value of the reading, the result would be closer to the actual value. 2. The uncertainties of each measurement should be taken into account according to the apparatus used. 3. Make sure that each apparatus used is cleaned thoroughly and only distilled water is used to rinse the apparatus. Conclusion: The chloride contents of urine vary at different circumstances. When the intake of chloride from food eaten is high, than the excess chloride will also rises and kidneys will excrete the excess chloride. The urine will then contain high amount of chloride. When less salty food is consumed, or too much water is drank, less chloride will be excreted and the urine will contain less chloride.