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Investigate How Temperature Affects The Rate of Aerobic Respiration Use A Respirometer

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8 views2 pages

Investigate How Temperature Affects The Rate of Aerobic Respiration Use A Respirometer

Uploaded by

jennakiddi
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Investigate how Temperature affects the rate of aerobic

respiration use a respirometer


CPACS 4b and 5
A respirometer measures oxygen uptake by respiring organisms. Any CO2 produced is
absorbed in the apparatus, so any change in gas volume is due to removal of oxygen by the
organisms through aerobic respiration. Hence oxygen uptake is used as an indication of
respiration rate.

1. Assemble the respirometer (see fig A). Check that you know how to use it, especially
the operation of the three-way tap. Clamp the syringe and respirometer in position
when in use.
2. Use a funnel to pour 5 cm3 of potassium hydroxide solution (corrosive) into each
respirometer vessel. Make sure none of the potassium hydroxide touches the sides of
the vessels.
3. Place a known mass of one type of organism into the boiling tube, and replace the
bung. Record the mass. Handle live animals with care to avoid harming them.
4. Mark the starting position of the fluid by noting the reading.
5. Close the tap to isolate the respirometer from the atmosphere and the syringe and
start the stop clock immediately.
6. Note the position of the fluid at 1 minute intervals for 5 minutes.
7. Work out the distance travelled by the liquid during each minute. Record your results in
a suitable table. Include columns for the mean rate of oxygen uptake during the 5
minutes and the mean rate per gram of organism.
8. At the end of 5 minutes, open the connection to the outside air. If time is available,
repeat the process for a different organism

Analysis of Results
1. If your respirometer does not have volumes marked onto it, convert the distance moved by
the liquid into the volume of oxygen used. Use the formula for the volume of a cylinder: 2
volume = πr h where r is the radius of the hole in the glass tube and h is the distance moved.
2. Calculate the mean rate of oxygen uptake during the 5 minutes, then divide by the mass of
organisms used to find the mean rate per gram of organism (mm3 min−1 g−1 ).
3. Collect mean results for the rate of oxygen uptake per gram from other groups in the class.
You could collect the results in a spreadsheet. Calculate the overall mean for each organism.
If there are sufficient data, calculate the standard deviation.
4. Plot a suitable graph of the class results. Use the range or standard deviation to indicate
the precision of the data.
5. Comment on your results and the variability of the data
Questions
1. Consider your results and any differences in rates of oxygen uptake between different
types of organism. Animals usually have a higher respiration rate per gram than plants.
Explain this difference.
2. Suggest what factors may have caused any variability seen in class results.
3. How could this variability be reduced and the precision of the results improved?
4. It would have been better to have used a control respirometer alongside the experimental
set-up. In the control the equipment is the same but the organisms are replaced by non-living
material such as glass beads.
(a) Explain what may cause the liquid in the control tube to move towards and away from the
respirometer.
(b) Explain how you would use the control results to correct your experimental data.
5. What is the importance of using soda lime in the respirometer? How does this affect the
volume of gas in the apparatus?
6. How does this influence the movement of the liquid in the capillary tube?

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