Beet root experiment

Aim: To investigate the effect of different substances on the beetroots cell

membrane.
Hypothesis: Different solutions will have different effects on the cell
membrane of the beetroot.
Materials:
Distilled water
5 petri dishes
Safety glasses
Marking pen
1m length of paper towel
Droppers
13 beetroot pieces
Stock solution of 1%, 25% and 50% ethanol
Stock solution of 1% and 5% detergent
Stock solution of pH 2, 4-9, 12
Method:
1. Collect 5 petri dishes
2. Wash the petri dishes thoroughly
3. Take 13 pieces of beetroot
4. Rinse until all colour pigment is released
5. Dry to see if the pigment is gone
6. Place 2-3 beetroots on each plate
7. Put the solution on each until the beetroot is covered
8. Label the solutions
9. Observe the beetroots reaction to the solutions
Results:
Time (Minutes)
Solution
1% detergent
5% detergent
1% ethanol
25% ethanol
50% ethanol
2 pH
4 pH
5 pH
6 pH
7 pH
8 pH
9 pH
12 pH

10
Light pink
Really light pink
Medium pink
Really light pink (nearly
clear)
Dark pink
Really dark maroon
Clear
Really light pink
Clear
Really light pink
Light pink
Contaminated by pH12
Dark yellow

Variables:
Independent: Different solutions
Dependent: Change in colour of the beetroot

20

Controlled: Water
Discussion:
The experiment was conducted to investigate the effect of different solutions
on the beetroot cell membrane. The results obtained, conveys that each
solution has a different effect on the cell membrane. Some solutions had a
large effect on the cell membrane and some solutions had either small effect or
no effect on the cell membrane of the beetroot. When pH2 was added, the
effect was seen quicker. The colour changed and was the darkest of all the
solutions. This suggests that pH2 solution is acidic and very strong. All the
alcohol solutions such as 1%, 25% and 50% had effect on the cell membrane of
the beetroot. Alcohol solutions of 1% and 25% showed light colour
pigmentation. Alcohol solution of 50% had a quick effect on beetroot and was
darker than the 1% and 25%. Detergent had slight effect on the beetroot's
colour however the beetroot absorbed the detergent and grew large in size.
Source of error that occurred during the experiment was that the beetroots
were not washed properly so the colours were leaking. The most interesting
observation that was made during this experiment was that as the pH was
decreasing the effect it had on the cell membrane decreased as well. This was
seen in pH2 as it was the darkest among all solutions, however pH8 was really
light that without the comparison with the controlled solution it can be said that
no changes occurred.
The results could be improved by getting the same sized beetroots for the
experiment, so the effect of each solution could be observed more clearly. The
beetroots should be washed thoroughly before conducting the experiment so
the colour wouldnt leak. Also if only one beetroot was placed in a petri dish,
the results would have been more accurate as the chemicals from the three
beetroots would not have mixed together. Time was a limitation in this
experiment. If there was more time this experiment could have been repeated
more than once to achieve accurate results.
Conclusion: The results obtained show that the stronger the detergent the
lighter the beetroot. pH 6, 7 and 8 are neutral thus the colour was really light.
Really strong ethanol makes beetroot extremely dark.