The effect of temperature on cell

membrane permeability in beetroot

Aim: To observe the effect of temperature on the colour of
water samples containing beetroot. The intensity will be
measured to determine the permeability of the beetroot cell
membranes at differing temperatures.
Apparatus: The equipment used to obtain our results included:

Six test tubes

A test tube rack
A cork borer
A white tile
A scalpel
Distilled water
A small beaker
A graduated pipette
A mounted needle
Large beakers
4 water baths
A kettle
Thermometers
Safety goggles
Measuring tape
A stopwatch
A colorimeter

Risk Assessment: There was no serious risk in this

experiment as long as all of the equipment was handled
properly. Incorrect usage of the kettle or the scalpel could have
possibly resulted in cuts and burns. To prevent such instances
from occurring, boiling water and the sharp edge of the scalpel
should be handled with caution and used sensibly.
Method: Firstly, the cork borer was used to cut cylinders of the
beetroot. These cylinders were placed on the white tile where
they were cut into 36 equal pieces (3mm) to ensure that they

had the same amount of mass, volume and surface area as

possible.
Once the pieces had been cut, they were placed into a beaker
under running water. This was to preserve the cells and wash
any dead cells off of them too.
The next step was to prepare the water baths at 30C, 40C,
50C and 60C using a thermometer in each individual bath to
measure each individual temperature. The boiling water was
prepared using the kettle (filled with distilled water) which
would then later be put into a beaker. Room temperature was
recorded in an empty beaker.
The test tubes where then labelled according to what
temperature they would sit in for 20 minutes.
Using the pipette, we added 6cm of distilled water into each
test tube, then put 6 beetroot pieces on a needle for each test
tube (with spacing between each beetroot sample).
We then placed all of the appropriate test tubes into their
respectively labelled water bath temperatures, boiling water or
room temperature. The stopwatch was used to measure 20
minutes that each test tube would sit in their temperatures for.
After the 20 minutes was up, the test tubes were removed from
the different temperatures, the needles with the beetroot
pieces were then removed from the test tubes to leave just the
water in them.
Finally, the test tubes were placed on the colorimeter and the
units displayed for light intensity were recorded whilst a test
tube with distilled water was used between each measurement
as a start point.
Results:
Temperature (C)
Boiling water
60
50
40
30

Coloration (ABS)
2.00
1.17
0.91
0.32
0.23

Room temperature

0.18

Conclusion: The results prove that as the temperature

increases, the coloration of the water samples increases. This
shows us that as the temperature increases, so does the
permeability of the beetroot cells. The higher temperature
results in the proteins within the membrane having more
kinetic energy, the hydrogen bonds that hold together the
amino acids will untangle and break away from the membrane.
The resulting wholes left in the cell allow pigments to diffuse
out of the cell and into the water, the more pigment in the
water, the more red/purple it will become. This means that the
more coloured the water sample, the more permeable the
membrane was, this holds true as the boiling water sample was
a strong red/purple whilst the room temperature was a weak
red at best.
Haider Bukhari.