LABORATORY ACTIVITY 1

KIDNEY FILTRATION

GROUP 1

Introduction

In this activity, the filtration of kidneys were simulated. Kidneys remove

wastes and extra fluid from the body. It also removes acid that is produced by the
cells of the body and maintain a healthy balance of water, salts, and minerals—such
as sodium, calcium, phosphorus, and potassium—in the blood. Without this, the
body’s cells, tissues, and others may not work normally. (The National Institute of
Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, 2018)

The kidney filtration activity made use of beakers, funnel, filter papers, cotton
balls and water with red food color to simulate the blood flow and filtration in the
body. This showed how healthy and unhealthy kidneys work and filter blood
through time. As the function of the kidneys decreases, the filtration capability of the
kidney most likely decreases too. Healthy kidneys filter at an average of 180 Liters of
blood per day, which removes waste and water that becomes urine. If the kidneys
do not work properly, it will surely make an impact on the system.

Objectives

- Explain the role of the kidney as a filtering system for blood

- Describe the by-products of the excretory system
- Simulate the function and structure of a healthy kidney and an unhealthy
kidney, by completing the Kidney Filtration Lab.
- Explain how the body is impacted when this system is damaged or fails.

Materials

1. Filter Paper
 2. Cotton Balls (6 Pieces)
3. Food Coloring
4. 250 ml Beaker
5. 3 Cups (Beakers)
6. Spoon
7. Water
8. Stopwatch
9. Pencil and Paper
10. 3 Funnels
11. Graduated Cylinder

Methods

1. Beakers were labeled A, B, and C, respectively.

2. A funnel was placed in beaker A, 3 cotton balls into the funnel of cup B, 6 cotton
balls into the funnel of cup C, and 9 cotton balls into funnel D.

3. 2-3 drops of red food coloring were mixed into a beaker containing 100 ml of water.

4. Stopwatch was set to zero. 100mL of water were slowly poured into the funnel of
each beaker. The water should not go over the top of the filter paper. Make
observations on the water that comes through the filter paper. The observations
were recorded.

5. The final volume of liquid that has passed through the funnel was recorded.

6. The rate of flow was calculated and placed into the data table.

Data Table:
 Initial Final % filtration Time Rate of Flow
volume (ml) volume Initial-final taken to Volume/Time
(ml) after x 100 filter
filtration (seconds
)

Beaker A Trial 1 100 100 0% 81 1.23 mL/sec

100%
functioning Trial 2 100 100 0% 148 0.68 mL/sec

Trial 3 100 - - -
-

Beaker B Trial 1 100 80 20% 93 0.86 mL/sec

75%
functioning Trial 2 100 85 15% 203 0.42 mL/sec

Trial 3 100 - - - -

Beaker C Trial 1 100 70 30% 54 1.3 mL/sec

50%
functioning
Trial 2 100 75 35% 144 0.89 mL/sec

Trial 3 100 - - - -

Beaker D Trial 1 100 50 50% 723 0.07 mL/sec

33%
functioning
Trial 2 100 55 45% 227 0.24 mL/sec

Trial 3 100 - - - -
GUIDE QUESTIONS

Post-lab Questions:
a. What happened to the water while it passed through the different layers of the
filter?

The water's final volume after filtration and its rate of flow decreases, while the
percentage of filtration and the time taken to filter increases as the set-up with
the beaker becomes less functioning.

b. Compare the water filtered through each beaker. Is there a difference?

The final volume of water decreases as it goes through Beaker A to Beaker D,

or as the set-up is 100% functioning to 33% functioning.

c. How is this activity like the action of the kidneys?

Just like how the beakers with filter papers and different number of cotton
balls filtered the water with food coloring, the kidneys work to filter blood to
remove waste, and that waste together with water will be urine. This needs to
be excreted by our body to avoid toxins building up in our body and to keep us
from being sick.

d. Why is filtering an important process in the urinary system?

Filtering by our kidneys remove wastes and extra fluid from our bodies, and
maintain a healthy balance of water, salts, and minerals in our blood. Without
this balance, nerves, muscles, and other tissues in our body may not work
normally.

e. How much waste were you able to filter for each level of functioning?

FORMULA: WASTE FILTERED=Initial volume of water – the average of both trials

A. There was no water filtered

B. 17.5 mL
C. 27.5 mL
 D. 47.5 mL

f. Compare the rate of flow for a kidney.

A. 0.995 mL/sec
B. 0.64 mL/sec
C. 1.095 mL/sec
D. 0.155 mL/sec

Filter paper and cotton: 0.72125 mL/sec

Kidney’s filtration: 125 ml/min or 2.08 mL/sec

The rate of filtration of the kidney is about 3 times faster than the filter paper and
cotton. But considering that there are 2 kidneys, each kidney is still about a half
times faster than the cotton and filter paper.

Conclusion:
Describe, in your own words, how the kidneys filter waste from the human body, and
how this helps to maintain homeostasis in the body.

Summarize how the model used in this lab demonstrates kidney function. For
example, what happened when cotton was added to each filter? Did this impact the
amount of liquid filtered? Why or why not? By what process did the liquid move into
the beaker?

The kidneys filter waste from our bodies just like how the machines in a
factory dispose of unuseful and dysfunctional materials. The wastes in our bodies
must be excreted in order for the other organs to continue their work without any
disruptions from the wastes.
The kidneys separate the wastes from the necessary nutrients and work to
get the wastes out of our bodies. As a result, the homeostasis or the balance inside
our bodies is maintained. The same thing goes for the unuseful and dysfunctional
materials in a factory. The machines separate the materials which they sense are
not needed for the product. If the machines fail to dispose of them, the resulting
product will be dysfunctional too. Meanwhile, if the kidneys fail to remove the wastes
in our bodies, the wastes will affect the proper functioning of the other organs and
we will experience illnesses brought by kidney failure.
The model used in this experiment demonstrated the function of the kidneys
by showing us that not everything that we put in the beaker will be absorbed by the
cotton, like how some materials in our bodies are used while some are disposed. The
number of cotton balls that were added to each filter affected the amount of filtered
water with food coloring. As more cotton balls were added to each filter, the filtered
water with food coloring decreased in amount. Since the cotton balls are somehow in
the way of the water with food coloring as it passes through the opening of the
beaker, the water found it difficult to pass without some amount being absorbed by
the cotton balls.

REFERENCES
Freudenrich, C. (2001, January 10). How Your Kidneys Work. Retrieved
November 25, 2018, from
https://health.howstuffworks.com/human-body/systems/Kidney-
urinary/kidney2.htm

The kidneys - a basic guide. (n.d.). Retrieved November 26, 2018, from
https://www.kidneyresearchuk.org/health-information/resources/the-kidneys-a
-basic-guide

The Kidneys: Picture, Function, Conditions, Tests, Treatments. (2016, November

18). Retrieved November 25, 2018, from https://www.webmd.com/kidney-stones/
picture-of-the-kidneys#1

Your Kidneys & How They Work. (2018, June 01). Retrieved November 26, 2018,
from https://www.niddk.nih.gov/health-information/kidney-disease
/kidneys-how-they-work

DOCUMENTATION
REFLECTION

In this activity, the group learned how the excretory system and kidneys
work. They realized how important the kidneys are in our body. Filtering functions
can create a great impact on the whole circulation and functions of blood and other
organs. The activity may be simple but deep understanding and knowledge are
gained from it. Timing the flow rate is also crucial since we need to see and get
accurate results. It was just this shortage of materials that made us not perform
Trial 3 but we think we could still see how the kidneys work.

Before doing the activity the class doesn’t think of concepts that govern the
excretory system. Doing the activity made the class open to think little by little about
how kidneys filter blood producing urine as a byproduct. With the materials given, the
kidney-like-filtration was simply shown. The class was left with different learning from
just observing the lab activity. If we are to think of the red liquid as blood with toxic
wastes we could come up with basic concepts related to how the kidney does its job. The
more cotton used in the set-up, the longer filtration takes place. As we add more cotton
the final volume decrease further. Filtration of waste is a process blood is filtered as it

goes down this process. Complex excretory system might take more time for filtering
wastes and as observed in the set up with more cotton volume is decreased the most
meaning more toxic wastes were filtered. The activity is perfect to prepare us before
going deep into our discussion about excretory system.