RESEARCH PROJECT PART 1

SCIENCE AND SCIENTIFIC METHOD

Science is a set of knowledge obtained through observation and reasoning, systematically structured
and from which general principles and laws with predictive and experimentally testable capacity are
deduced.

The knowledge we possess about different phenomena that occur in nature is due to the research work
carried out by scientists, whose work is very similar to that of a detective.

Investigating means to inquire in order to discover something; in the case of scientists, to discover
things about nature. To do this, the scientist has a special way of working following a series of steps
called the scientific method. The steps of this method are the following:

Steps of the scientific method
1. Observe the phenomenon
2. Establish a hypothesis: can be
subdivided into ask questions and make
a prediction.
3. Experimentation: can be subdivided
into designing the experiment,
performing the experiment and
collecting data.
4. Data analysis
5. Conclusions
6. Report results
Steps of the scientific method applied to our research:
analysis of gas release from yeast.
When we add yeast to a sponge cake it comes out of the
oven fluffy.
How do you form those hollow spaces between the cake
batter that make it fluffy?
They could come from yeast, since we know that living
beings produce gases that many years ago even profoundly
changed the composition of the atmosphere.
To analyze the relationship between the presence or
absence of yeast and the emission of gases we will perform
an experiment with this organism and sugar water.
We will add yeast and sugar to a bottle of warm water and
close it with a balloon.
We will note on the recording chart whether the balloon
swells or not and if it does, the perimeter of the balloon.
We compare the data.
We tried to see a relationship between them by comparing
the amount of yeast with the perimeter of the balloon.
We will make a report or poster in which the steps carried
out will be collected.

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 GUIDED SCIENTIFIC PROJECT: "Analysis of gas release from yeast".

THEORETICAL CONCEPTS TO REMEMBER

Living things can change the composition of the atmosphere. In this case that living being is yeast, which
belongs to the fungi Kingdom and is therefore heterotrophic. It will be nourished by a reaction that
transforms sugar into energy, carbon dioxide and other substances.

EXPERIMENTATION

OBJECTIVES: What do we want to demonstrate?

- Find out if the yeast produces gas.

MATERIALS: What do you need?

- A package of active yeast (you can get it in the supermarket).

- A microwave oven
- Three cups to heat the water a little.
- Two spoonfuls of sugar
- Three balloons
- Three plastic bottles that you have already used and are no longer useful (remember the three Rs).

METHODOLOGY How to do it?

1. Inflate the balloon several times to stretch it a little.

2. Heat the same volume of water in the cups by putting them in the microwave for half a minute. If the
water is too hot, the yeast will die.
3. Add the sugar in each cup equally and the different amount of yeast in each of the three cups (none,
a quarter and a half) mix until dissolved.
4. Transfer the liquid to the plastic bottle. You don't need to fill it, just add liquid up to half of the bottle.
5. Holding the bottle, place the balloon in the mouth of the bottle.
6. Wait about 30 minutes and measure the perimeter of the balloon if it swells (you can use a string
around it and then, without letting go of the ends, extend it on a ruler).
7. Repeat the experiment another different day and with other different samples to verify that it has not
been a matter of chance that these data have been obtained and that the experiment is reproducible.

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 DATA RECORDING TABLE Experiment 1 (day / /2 )
Conditions: Variable: Does the Balloon perimeter
Amount of yeast balloon
swell?
1. Container with half of
the yeast
2. Container with a
quarter of the yeast
3. Non-yeast container

DATA RECORDING TABLE Experiment 1 (day / /2 )

Variable: Does the Balloon perimeter
Amount of yeast balloon
swell?
1. Container with half of
the yeast
2. Container with a
quarter of the yeast
3. Non-yeast container

FINAL DATA (AVERAGE OF THE TWO EXPERIMENTS)

Variable: Does the Balloon perimeter
Amount of yeast balloon
swell?
Container with half of
the yeast
Container with a quarter
of the yeast
Non-yeast container

DATA ANALYSIS AND CONCLUSION

In view of the results obtained in the experiment, explain how the amount of yeast affects the inflation volume of
the balloon. Provide a possible explanation relating these results with the theoretical concepts to remember.