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Effects of Temperature on Cell Membranes

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Investigating the effect of temperature on plant cell membranes

The purpose of this activity is:

• to practise experimental and investigative skills • to investigate the effect of temperature on cell membrane structures

Procedure

SAFETY: Always carry scalpels clasped to a tile and with the tip pointing away from you.

Beetroot cells contain pigments called betalains that give the tissue its dark purple-red colour. The pigment is contained in the cell vacuole.

Investigation

a. Collect 3 or 4 beetroot cores from the beaker provided. Cut each core into 2 cm sections until you have enough for one core for each temperature of water bath that you will be using. Put your 2 cm sections into a test tube with plenty of …show more content…

This means that the vacuole contents will more readily leak into the water in the test tube. The higher the temperature, the greater the disruption to the plasma membranes and the more pigment will leak out in 30 minutes.

2. The factors controlled in this test are the ones that are the same from one group to another – the size of the beetroot cores (their surface area and volume), the advance treatment of the beetroot cores, the volume of water in the test tubes, the pre-heating (or chilling) of the water in the test tubes using the water baths, the length of time the cores spend in the water baths, the treatment of the cores after heating. The experiment could be made more reliable by using more samples of beetroot, and by maintaining the temperature with thermostatically-controlled water baths.

3. The higher the temperature, the greater the amount of pigment released from the

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