BIO 282 WEEK 3 LAB Report PDF

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BIO 282 WEEK 3 LAB REPORT LIMITS TO CELL SIZE- An experiment aimed at determining the relation between transport efficiency and size of cells using raw beet root MATERIALS AND METHODS For this experiment, raw beetroot was taken and it was cut into three cubes of sizes 2x2cm, 1x1cm and 0.5x0.5cm using a knife (Raw beetroot was chosen because it is easily available and the presence of natural red pigment is convenient for the experiment) . Subsequently each cube was placed in three individual small containers and bleach (a dilute solution of sodium hypochlorite, it is a disinfectant) was poured in the three containers until the surface of the cubes was covered with the liquid.(This step was undertaken to mimic cellular transport, bleach can be thought of as a transport product and the beet cubes as cells) The cubes were allowed to soak in bleach for 30 minutes and thereafter the cubes were removed from the containers and were placed on a plate, excess liquid was dabbed off avoid error in measurement and then the cubes were sliced in half using a knife and the diameter of the red pigment was measured using a ruler.

RESULTS It was found in the experiment that the cell size and the diameter of red pigment are directly proportional. The trends in table 1 substantiate the aforementioned result. Table 1 Cell Size 2cm 1cm

Diameter of Red Pigment 1.5cm 0.5cm

0.5cm

0.01cm

Table 1- Measurement for the diameter of red pigment in the beet cube, Table 2 shows that the smallest cube had the least amount of red pigment left in it.

DISCUSSION

The experiment aimed at determining the relation between transport efficiency and cell size after calculating the surface area, volume and surface area to volume ratio of all three cubes (Table 2), it was expected that the smallest cells will be the most effective in transportation. TABLE 2

Length of Sides 2cm 1cm 0.5cm

Surface Area 24 6 3

Volume 8 1 2.5

SA:V ratio 3:1 8:1 12:1

Table 2- Surface Area to Volume ratio calculations for the beet cubes. Table 2 shows that the smallest cube has the largest SA: V ratio. The experimental findings coincided with the expected results. The data obtained experimentally shows that the cell with the smallest size had the least amount of red pigment left. High SA: V ratio of the smallest cell enabled effective uptake and transportation of bleach and this caused the maximum disappearance of the red pigment in beet. Therefore, it can be concluded that the transport efficacy of cells is directly proportional to the SA: V ratio and it is inversely proportional to cell size. Furthermore, there were no unexpected results, which proves that the experiment was conducted correctly. Based on the results of the experiment, the following would be an interesting question to ask-: What other factors determine a cell’s transport and absorption efficacy?

Thankyou Krish Bhalla....