1

! C M (2010 AugusL 7) Membtooe 8eLrleved november 2 2011 from Welcome Lo Lhe 8lology
Web
hLLp//faculLycllnLonedu/faculLy/MlchaelCregory/flles/8lo20101/8lo2010120LecLures
/Membranes/membranehLm
2
Ally C (2011) wbot ls Membtooe letmeoblllty 8eLrleved november 1 2011 from wlsegeek
hLLp//wwwwlsegeekcom/whaLlsmembranepermeablllLyhLm




Aim and bypotbesis
@he alm of Lhls experlmenL ls Lo lnvesLlgaLe how Lhe lncrease of LemperaLure affecLs Lhe sLrucLure of
a cell membrane
lL hypoLheslsed LhaL as Lhe LemperaLure lncreases Lhe more dye LhaL would be dlffused lnLo Lhe
waLer @hls due Lo Lhe facL of Lhe sLrucLure of Lhe cell membrane as lL ls belng heaLed up
Procedure
llve bolllng Lubes where puL ln a waLer baLh and Lhen lL were heaLed unLll Lhe requlred LemperaLure
AfLerwards Lhe beeLrooL where placed ln Lhe bolllng Lubes and lefL ln Lhere for 20 mlnuLes durlng
LhaL Llme Lhe waLer baLh LemperaLure was kepL consLanL AfLer Lhe 20mlnuLes Lhe beeLrooL should
have leaked some dye lnLo Lhe waLer @he soluLlon Lhe bolllng Lube was Lhen Llpped lnLo a cuveLLe
whlch was placed ln a colorlmeLer and Lhen Lhe resulLs were recorded
Materials
8aw beeLrooL bolllng Lubes plasLlc beaker 230 cm
3
heaLlng plaLe LhermomeLer colorlmeLer
cuveLLes sLop waLch dlsLllled waLer small measurlng cyllnder and Lweezers
Background information
lasma membrane or hosphollpld 8llayers ls made up of Lwo phosphollpld layers @he layers are
made up of a hydrophoblc (meanlng waLer fearlng) Lall whlch ls nonpolar and does noL lnLeracL wlLh
waLer and a hydrophlllc (Meanlng waLer lovlng) head whlch ls polar enabllng Lhem Lo lnLeracL wlLh
waLer
@he phosphollpld bllayer forms a 'fluldmosalc model' (! 2010)
1
ln a waLery envlronmenL Lhe
phosphollpld forms a bllayer @he polar heads poslLlons Lowards Lhe waLer whlle Lhe Lalls poslLlons
Lhemselves lnLo Lhe bllayer


2

@he membrane permeablllLy ls when Lhe membrane allows cerLaln subsLance or maLerlal Lo pass ln
or ouL of Lhe cell Lhls ls dependenL on Lhe sLrucLure of Lhe bllayer Membrane permeablllLy ls
lmporLanL Lo Lhe membrane as lL helps conLrol Lhe subsLances enLerlng or exlLlng Lhe cell whlch
enables Lhem Lo exLracL subsLances such as 'amlno aclds faLLy aclds sugars and vlLamlns' (Ally
2011)
2
Semlpermeable membrane ls when only soluLe llke waLer can pass Lhrough ermeable
membrane ls when lons and molecules pass Lhrough and selecLlve permeable membrane where lL
only leLs cerLaln subsLances pass Lhrough
Csmosls ls when waLer molecules move from low Lo hlgh concenLraLlon are separaLed by Lhe seml
permeable membrane @he waLer molecules move from a low Lo hlgh concenLraLlon whlch
Lherefore Lurns Lhe soluLe wlLh Lhe hlgher soluLlon lnLo a hyperLonlc soluLlon and Lhe one wlLh a low
concenLraLlon ls hypoLonlc
aw Data Table
@able 1 CuanLlLaLlve daLa of Lhe absorbency of green and blue llghL from Lhe 8eeLrooL cell membrane soluLlon aL dlfferenL
LemperaLures
Absorbency (_. 1A)
1r|a| 1 1r|a| 2 1r|a| 3 1r|a| 4 1r|a| S
Groups 1emperature
(_. 5)
8|ue
read|ng
Green
read|ng
8|ue
read|ng
Green
read|ng
8|ue
read|ng
Green
read|ng
8|ue
read|ng
Green
read|ng
8|ue
read|ng
Green
read|ng
Croup 1 00 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0007 0000 0000
Croup 2 100 0000 0001 0000 0006 0000 0014 0000 0003 0000 0021
Croup**
3
200 nu nu nu nu nu nu nu nu nu nu
Croup 4 300 0000 0008 0000 0002 0000 0019 0000 0007 0000 0008
Croup 3 400 0162 0234 0018 0086 0263 0231 0000 0042 0030 0093
Croup 6 300 0372 0360 0377 0339 0088 0039 0000 0022 0032 0042
Croup 7 600 0811 0860 1728 1326 0906 0803 0828 0789 2162 1341
Croup
8*
700* 1967 0971 3000 1237 2333 1202 3000 1223 1894 1026
*Croup 8 collecLed LhaL seL of daLa
** Croup 3 (20C) could noL presenL any daLa as an error had accorded durlng Lhe experlmenL whlch
enabled Lhem Lo produce any daLa @herefore Lhere wlll be no daLa presenLed for 20C
ualitative data
Croups @emperaLure
(_.)
CbservaLlons
Croup 1 00 8efore O lce cubes are large and are floaLlng around ln Lhe waLer
O @he beeLrooL was red and dark
uurlng O @he waLer baLh LemperaLure flucLuaLed and no dye leaked ouL


3

of Lhe beeLrooL
AfLer O @he lce cubes decreased ln slze
O @he beeLrooL has swelled
Croup 2 100 8efore O @he beeLrooL was a dark red colour and lL was [elly llke
O @he dlsLllled waLer ln Lhe LesL Lubes are clear
O @he waLer ln Lhe waLer baLh was also clear
uurlng O @he beeLrooL sllces remalned dark red and [elly llke
O @he colour of Lhe dlsLllled waLer was clear
O @he waLer baLh ln Lhe beaker was cold
O ulfferenL slzes of lce cubes floaLed ln Lhe beaker
O WaLer was drlpplng down Lhe slde of Lhe beaker
AfLer O no changes have occurred Lo Lhe beeLrooL sllces
O @he dlsLllled waLer had no slgnlflcanL changes Lherefore
remalned clear
O lce cubes ln Lhe beaker decreased ln slze
O WaLer baLh remalned cold
O WaLer ls sLlll drlpplng down Lhe sldes of Lhe beaker
O 8eeLrooL has swelled
Croup 3 200 8efore O 8eeLrooL ls red ln colour and no dye was presenL ln Lhe waLer
O no bubbles where formed ln Lhe bolllng Lube
uurlng O 8eeLrooL was a dark red colour and no dye was presenL ln Lhe
waLer
O @emperaLure flucLuaLed and no bubbles where form
AfLer O @he beeLrooL was sLlll dark ln red colour and no dye was
presenL ln Lhe waLer
Croup 4 300 8efore O no dye
O 8eeLrooL was ln clear waLer
O 8eeLrooL dark and red
O no bubbles where formed
uurlng O 18 mlnuLes and plnk dye was seen ln Lhe waLer
AfLer O @he waLer was falrly clear buL had a llghL plnk Llnge
O 8ubbles dlsappeared as Lhe waLer cooled
Croup 3 400 8efore O no changes happened
uurlng O @he LemperaLure flucLuaLed beLween 40C Lo 30C red dye
sLarLed Lo leak buL slowly afLer 8 mlnuLes
O no vlslble sollds ln Lhe soluLlon and no bubbles formed ln Lhe
bolllng Lube
AfLer O SLlll Lhe same
Croup 6 300 8efore O @emperaLure ln Lhe waLer baLh flucLuaLed consLanLly

uurlng O @he beeLrooL sllces sLarLed Lo leak ouL red dye
AfLer O When beeLrooL sllces were removed Lhe waLer was sllghLly
plnk
O @wo ouL of Lhe flve samples had a slgnlflcanLly sLronger shae
of red beeLrooL colour
Croup 7 600 8efore O @emperaLure flucLuaLed beLween 33C and 63C


4

uurlng O Around slx mlnuLes Lhe red dye seeped ouL of Lhe beeLrooL
O @here was no vlslble sollds ln Lhe beeLrooL
O Alr bubbles sLarLed Lo form Lhe bolllng Lube LhroughouL Lhe
experlmenL
AfLer O A slgnlflcanLly darker shade of red from Lhe samples

Croup 8 700 8efore O @he beeLrooL was cyllnder and red ln colour
uurlng O 8ubbles appeared on Lhe ouLslde of Lhe bolllng Lube
O @he beeLrooL sLarLed Lo slowly leak ouL red dye
AfLer O WaLer cooled and Lhe bubbles dlsappeared
O @he beeLrooL dye ln Lhe dlsLllled waLer was a flre englne red
O 8eeLrooL swelled

Processed Data Table
@able 2 @he average values of Lhe absorbency from Lhe green and Lhe blue llghL for
Lhe dlfferenL LemperaLures
Absorbency {_. 1A)
1emperature (_. 5 ) 8lue readlng Creen readlng
00 0000 0001
100 0000 0009
200 nu nu
300 0000 0009
400 0102 0142
300 0174 0168
600 1287 1104
700 2479 1132
tandard deviation
*@able 3 @hls ls Lhe sLandard devlaLlon for Lhe blue and green readlng aL dlfferenL
LemperaLures SLandard devlaLlon ls shown
Absorbency {_. 1A)
8|ue read|ng 0982
Green read|ng
0329
*SLandard devlaLlon was calculaLed wlLh Lhe use of Lxcel 2010




3

ample calculation
@able 4 Sample calculaLlon of Lhe processed daLa
Averages of Lhe absorbency of Lhe blue and green readlng
Green 70C
IJI
.9 + . + . + . + .

.8
= .

8|ue 70C
IJI
.9 + + . + + .89

.88
= .9

s s J JJJ IJJ J Js J JJJIss II







Standard dev|at|on for green read|ng
Standard dev|at|on for 8|ue read|ng


6

0000
0300
1000
1300
2000
2300
3000
3300
4000
00 100 200 300 400 300 600 700 800
a
b
s
o
r
b
e
n
c
y

u
n
|
t
s

(

0
.
0
0
1
A
U
)
1emperature (0S)
1he graph of the average data of the absorbency of the b|ue read|ng at
d|fferent temperatures
blue readlng






rapbs
|gure 1 @he graph of Lhe average daLa of Lhe absorbency of Lhe blue readlng aL dlfferenL LemperaLures
(_.)


7

0
02
04
06
08
1
12
14
16
18
0 10 20 30 40 30 60 70 80
a
b
s
o
r
b
e
n
c
y

u
n
|
t
s

(

0
.
0
0
1
A
U
)
1emperature (0.5C)
1he average read|ng of the absorbency of the red read|ng at d|fferent
temperatures
green readlng
|gure 2 @he average readlng of Lhe absorbency of Lhe red readlng aL dlfferenL LemperaLures

oncluding and Evaluating
@he lnvesLlgaLlon was seL ouL Lo deLermlne how varlous LemperaLures affecLed Lhe sLrucLure of a cell
membrane @he graphs (flgure one and flgure Lwo) has supporLed Lhe hypoLhesls sLaLed and have
shown LhaL as Lhe LemperaLure lncreases Lhe more Lhe beeLrooL dlffuses ln whlch shows Lhe affecLs
LemperaLure has caused on Lhe sLrucLure of a cell
llgure 1 has shown as a LemperaLure lncreases Lhe more Lhe beeLrooL has dlffused A colorlmeLer
has been used ln order Lo show Lhe lncrease of beeLrooL dye belng dlffused ln Lhe dlsLllled waLer
@hls ls shown by measurlng Lhe absorbency of a blue llghL @he absorbency of Lhe blue llghL shows a
clear exponenLlal relaLlonshlp beLween Lhe lncrease ln LemperaLure and absorbency of blue llghL As
shown aL a 700C Lhe absorbency of Lhe blue llghL ls 2479Au and aL 00C Lhe absorbency ls
0000Au Lhls means LhaL aL 700C Lhe beeLrooL dlffused a loL more 8eLallan plgmenLs lnLo Lhe waLer
Lhan Lhe 00C Lherefore Lhls supporLs Lhe hypoLhesls
llgure 2 has shown LhaL Lhe red cannoL absorb as much green llghL as Lhe blue buL Lhe graphs
presenLed sLlll supporLs Lhe hypoLhesls as lL presenLs an exponenLlal relaLlonshlp beLween Lhe
LemperaLure and absorbency of green llghL @hus sLlll supporLs Lhe hypoLhesls
@he reason why aL a hlgher LemperaLure Lhe more of red and blue llghL ls absorbed ls due Lo Lhe facL
LhaL Lhe sLrucLure of Lhe cell membrane ls alLered durlng Lhe heaLlng process @he phosphollplds
melL" as lL ls made up of faLLy aclds @herefore Lhe permeablllLy of Lhe semlpermeable membrane


8

weakens allowlng more and more waLer molecule Lo enLer Lhe beeLrooL cell (osmosls) as well as
allowlng more 8eLallan plgmenLs dlffuse ouL of Lhe membrane Lhan usual @hls ls why afLer Lhe
experlmenL Lhe beeLrooL appeared all swelled up as many waLer molecules have enLered Lhe
membrane Powever as Lhe LemperaLure ls low Lhe phosphollpld are packed LlghLly Lherefore Lhe
permeablllLy of Lhe membrane lncreases whlch means Lhe waLer molecules does noL enLer Lhe
membrane as much and Lhe 8elLallan plgmenLs don'L dlffuse as much
@he purpose of Lhls experlmenL ls Lo show LhaL as Lhe LemperaLure lncreases Lhe sLrucLure and
permeablllLy of a cell decreases whlch enables Lhem Lo conLrol Lhe subsLances LhaL enLer or exlL Lhe
membrane Lven Lhough Lhe experlmenL has supporLed Lhe hypoLhesls Lhe experlmenL sLlll had
some error and lmprovemenLs LhaL could make for a more accuraLe LesLlng Lhls ls llsLed down below
rror]||m|tat|on now does |t affect the resu|ts Improvements
@emperaLure of Lhe waLer baLh
kepL flucLuaLlng
@hls affecLed Lhe resulLs by noL
keeplng lL consLanL
LemperaLure lL ls hard Lo
provlde accuraLe resulLs for
experlmenL As Lhe waLer baLh
was heaLed on a hoLplaLe and
Lhe waLer baLh was consLanLly
removed off Lhe hoL plaLe as lL
goL Lo hoL and puL back on as lL
sLarLed Lo cool down As lL has
been shown LhaL dlfferenL
LemperaLures affecL Lhe
permeablllLy of Lhe membrane
so lf Lhe LemperaLure was 3C
Lhe requlred LemperaLure Lhe
beeLrooL cell could dlffuse
elLher Loo much L or Loo llLLle
predlcLed
@o lmprove on Lhe error @he
seLup of Lhe experlmenL would
be changed lnsLead of heaLlng
Lhe waLer baLh on Lhe hoL
plaLe A laboraLory waLer baLh
would be used as lL keeps Lhe
waLer consLanL by a LenLh of a
C
llnger prlnLs on Lhe cuveLLes When handlng Lhe cuveLLes Lhe
flngerprlnLs appeared on Lhe
cuveLLe @hls affecLed Lhe
resulLs because when Lhe
cuveLLe was placed ln Lhe
colorlmeLer Lhe llghL bounced
off Lhe cuveLLe as Lhe oll from
Lhe flngerprlnL reflecLed lL @hls
affecLed Lhe resulLs because
Lhe colorlmeLer could noL geL a
clear readlng of Lhe soluLlon as
only some of Lhe llghL could
pass Lhrough lL
When handllng Lhe cuveLLe
make sure Lhe person ls
wearlng gloves ln order Lo
avold any flngerprlnLs geLLlng
on lL
AnoLher opLlon would be when
handllng lL before puLLlng lL ln
Lhe colorlmeLer Lhe cuveLLe
could be wlped off wlLh a llnL
free cloLh ln order Lo ellmlnaLe
any flnger prlnLs presenL on Lhe
cuveLLe
ulfferenL slzes @he beeLrooL where cuL lnLo
dlfferenL slzes @hls affecLed Lhe
resulLs as a blgger slze beeLrooL
@o lmprove lL when cuLLlng Lhe
beeLrooL slzes use a ruler Lo
measure lL ln order Lo geL all of


9

would have more plgmenL Lo
dlffuse Lhen one LhaL ls small
@herefore Lhls would affecL Lhe
resulLs
Lhe beeLrooL pleces ln a
unlform slze
lanL Lype @hls ls llmlLaLlon Lo Lhe
experlmenL As Lhe experlmenL
only LesLed Lhls on a beeLrooL
cell ulfferenL planLs would
have dlfferenL cell membranes
Lherefore Lhe hypoLhesls ls only
correcL for a beeLrooL
membrane
@o lmprove Lhls experlmenL
could be LesLed wlLh oLher
planLs such as celery sLlck or
gumLree leave @hls would help
prove LhaL Lhe hypoLhesls ls
correcL for all planLs
SLop waLch and Llmlng Cnce Lhe waLer baLh heaLed up
Lhe beeLrooL sllces where
placed one aL a Llme lnLo each
bolllng Lube Lherefore Lhey ls a
sllghL Llme delay on when Lhe
experlmenL sLarLed lor
example Lhe beeLrooL sllce one
was puL ln aL 1 second and
beeLrooL sllce Lwo was puL ln
on Lhe 2 second @he sLopwaLch
was also only sLarLed Lo Llme
Lhe 20mlnuLes around abouL a
mlnuLes laLer afLer Lhe beeLrooL
was puL lnLo Lhe bolllng Lubes
@hls affecLed Lhe resulLs as
some beeLrooL sllces would
have a sllghLly longer Llme Lo
dlffuse ouL Lhe plgmenLs @hls
would affecL Lhe resulLs sllghLly
as some of Lhe beeLrooLs would
have exLra Llme Lo dlffuse more
Lhan Lhe ones LhaL were puL ln
laLe
@o lmprove on Lhls 3 people
could have a plece of beeLrooL
each and when Lhe bolllng
Lubes and waLer baLh are
heaLed Lo Lhe rlghL
LemperaLure Lhe sLudenLs can
puL ln Lhe beeLrooL sllces
sLralghLaway







10

Bibliograpby
123helpme (2011) @be ffect of @empetotote oo tbe cell Membtooes of 8eettoot cells 8eLrleved
november 1 2011 from 123helpme hLLp//www123helpmecom/vlewasp?ld123034
Ally C (2011) wbot ls Membtooe letmeoblllty 8eLrleved november 1 2011 from wlsegeek
hLLp//wwwwlsegeekcom/whaLlsmembranepermeablllLyhLm
Chllds C v (2001 ocLober 7) Membtooe sttoctote ooJ tbe fooctloos 8eLrleved november 1 2011
from Membrane sLrucLure and Lhe funcLlons hLLp//wwwcyLochemlsLryneL/cell
blology/membrane_lnLrohLm
! C M (2010 AugusL 7) Membtooe 8eLrleved november 2 2011 from Welcome Lo Lhe 8lology
Web
hLLp//faculLycllnLonedu/faculLy/MlchaelCregory/flles/8lo20101/8lo2010120LecLures
/Membranes/membranehLm
Mcklnley M (2006) now osmosls wotks 8eLrleved november 1 2011 from Puman anaLomy
hLLp//hlgheredmcgraw
hlllcom/slLes/0072493833/sLudenL_vlew0/chapLer2/anlmaLlon__how_osmosls_workshLml
nuffleld loundaLlon (2006 March 30) keoct 8eLrleved november 1 2011 from nuffleld
Advanced ChemlsLry hLLp//wwwchemlsLryreacLorg/go/laq/laq_22983hLml
WaLerbaLhneL (2009) wotet botb 8eLrleved november 1 2011 from WaLerbaLhneL
hLLp//wwwwaLerbaLhneL/LypeshLml