Beet Cells Lab Report

In this experiment, 4 grams of peeled turnip was used to prepare the enzyme extract opposed to the 1 gram of turnip suggested by Fundamentals of Life Science. Along with the change to the amount of turnip used, the amount of 0.1M phosphate buffer used to prepare the enzyme extract was changed from 50mL to 30mL. The affect of temperature on enzyme activity was not

The leaves of a plant are the main photosynthetic organs and are involved in gas exchange and water transportation throughout a plant (Evans et al, 17). A leaf typically consists of an upper and lower epidermis, the mesophyll cells, veins, guard cells and stomata. The mesophyll cells contains spongey cells which have large gaps between each cell to allow oxygen and carbon dioxide circulation. The mesophyll cells contain palisade cells, which are located beneath the upper epidermis. The palisade cells contain many chloroplasts, which are green organelles. Located in the internal layers of chloroplasts is the pigment chlorophyll which is involved in trapping the light energy in photosynthesis (Evans et al, 17).

The cell membranes are the utmost essential organelle that surrounds all living cells. Its purpose is to control what goes in and out of the cells and is accountable for the various other properties of the cells as well. The nucleus and other organelles also have membranes that are practically indistinguishable. Membranes are organised in a mosaic arrangement, comprised of carbohydrates, proteins and phospholipids. This can be seen in Figure 1. The objective of this indirect examination is to study the causes of various solvents and conducts on live beetroot cells. The reason why beetroot cells have been selected for this experiment is because they have a big membrane-bound central vacuole, as seen in Figure 2. The red colour anthocyanin, which provides the beetroot its bright colour is located in the vacuole. The cell membrane encloses the whole beetroot cell. The anthocyanin cannot leak out if the membranes stay unharmed. The red colour can escape if the membranes are hassled or broken.

4) The Sucrose molecules cannot pass through the plasma membrane, but osmosis can still occur. So, the permeability of the potato’s cytoplasm only applies to the H2O molecules.

The role of an enzyme is to catalyse reactions within a cell. The enzyme present in a potato (Solanum Tuberosum) is catechol oxidase. In this experiment, the enzyme activity was tested under different temperature and pH conditions. The objective of this experiment was to determine the ideal conditions under which catechol oxidase catalyses reactions. In order to do this, catechol was catalyzed by catechol oxidase into benzoquinone at diverse temperatures and pH values. The enzyme was exposed to its new environment for 5 minutes before the absorbance of the catechol oxidase was measured at 420 nm using a spectrophotometer. The use of a spectrophotometer was crucial for the collection of data in this experiment. When exposed to hot and cold temperatures, some enzymes were found to denature causing the activity to decrease. Similarly, when the pH was too high or low, then the catechol oxidase enzyme experienced a significant decrease in activity. It can be concluded after completing this experiment that the optimal pH for catechol oxidase is 7 and that the prime temperature is 20º C. Due to the fact that the catechol oxidase was only tested under several different temperatures and pH values, it is always possible to get a more precise result by decreasing the increments between the test values. However, our experiment was able to produce accurate results as to the

Aim: To investigate how effect of Detergent Concentration (cont.) has on Membrane permeability of Beetroot cells. Hypothesis: I predict that as detergent concentration increases, the solution will become less clear, plus mass increases. The increases in mass will indicate that the water potential of the Beetroot cell is lower than that of the surrounding sucrose solution. The Beetroot discs will become flaccid and decrease in mass if the water potential of the surrounding solution is lower than the water potential inside the beetroot cell.

Therefore, more of the red pigment in the beetroot would leak as the lipids control the substances that enter and leave the cell membrane.

The cell membrane (Plasma membrane) functions to provide cell support, cell stability and control entry and exit of materials from the cell. This study was conducted to test the effects of environmental conditions such as the on beet root cell membrane (Beta vulgaris). Five trials using varied pH concentrations were tested and absorbance rates were monitored. The experimental results showed that the protein function decreased sequentially when the pH decreased. This allowed the betacyanin dye to leak out which created the color that was needed to determine the intensity and therefore the effect of the circumstances. This supported the hypothesis that the more acidic or basic the environmental condition around the beet cell, the more permeable the, membrane indicated by color intensity. Pigment leakage in the solution was analyzed by using a spectrophotometer.

vulgaris plants, via the formation of a standard curve prepared using varying concentrations of bovine serum albumin (BSA) solution. Following absorbance readings of the various BSA solutions, they were plotted against their concentrations providing an indirect measure for determining protein concentrations of the plant samples within the assay tubes, and through further calculations the sample protein concentration. The mean protein concentration for the control group was calculated to be 3.34 ± 1.30 mg/mL, while the mean treated group concentration was 2.01 ± 1.26 mg/mL. These results similarly like the chlorophyll results correlate with the literature articles, as a reduced protein content within the Paraquat treated plants can be expected to some extent (Chia et al., 1981). This reduction in protein concentration is the result of those superoxide anions produced by Paraquat, disrupting the chloroplast membranes and allowing for intracellular components including some proteins to leak out, hence the decrease in protein concentration in comparison to the non-treated plants (Qian et al., 2009). A slight outlier may exist within the treated groups protein concentrations as one of the groups provided a negative value for protein concentration which is not valid, but even after exclusion of that data value, results are still supportive of the expected outcome. Though these results support the claim of Paraquat toxicity causing membrane deterioration and leakiness, protein concentration values are rather more purposeful when used to analyze malondialdehyde (MDA) values on per mg of protein

Beets also known as Beta Vulgaris, contain a pigment known as betacyanin that gives the beets its deep rich red color, it is water soluble and is stored in the vacuoles of the beet roots and stems. Because the betacyanin is a water soluble pigment is can not easily cross the cell membranes.

The Effect of Temperature on the Permeability of Beetroot Membrane Analysis The graph shows the colorimeter readings increase as the temperature increases, they increase by the most at higher temperatures. This is shown by a smooth curve. This means that the beetroot samples release more dye at higher temperatures.

Water diffuses across the membrane from the region of lower solute concentration (higher free water concentration) to that of higher solute concentration (lower free water concentration) until the solute concentrations on both sides of the membrane are equal. The diffusion of free water across a selectively permeable membrane, whether artificial or cellular, is called osmosis. The movement of water across cell membranes and the balance of water between the cell and its environment are crucial to organisms. ("Diffusion And Osmosis - Difference And Comparison | Diffen"). A semi-permeable membrane known as the cell membrane surrounds the living cells of both plants and animals. Both solute concentration and membrane permeability are

15) Obtain the boiled chloroplast suspension, mix, and transfer 3 drops to cuvette 4. Immediately cover and mix cuvette 4. Insert it into the spectrophotometer's sample holder, read the percentage transmittance, and record it in Table 4.4. Replace cuvette 4 into the incubation test tube rack. Take and record additional readings at 5, 10, and 15 minutes. Mix the cuvette's contents just prior to each readings. Remember to use cuvtte 1 occasionally to check and adjust the spectrophotometer to 100% transmittance.

Thus it forms holes, disrupting the membrane of the beetroot core which essentially prevents the betacyanin pigment from leaving the cell. Also, when exposed under heat, the cholesterol, glycolipids and phospholipids expand, putting pressure on the membrane from inside. The lipid part of the membrane will become liquid, making it open to leakage. The proteins in the membrane will denature, increasing the permeability in the surface. The combination of vibrating molecules and a denaturing membrane would disrupt the organized structure of the membrane. And eventually with a disrupted membrane, betacyanin pigment in the innermost compartment will leak out.

An investigation of the glucose concentration of the cell sap in potato cells In this experiment I intend to investigate the effects of osmosis on potato cells. Specifically, I intend to use my knowledge of osmosis to investigate the glucose concentration of the cell sap in potato cells. Osmosis is a method by which water levels on either side of a semi permeable membrane may balance themselves. It occurs between regions of high water concentration and low water concentration.