Near East College- AS Biology-Notes

UNIT 3 EDEXCEL BIOLOGY

List of Core Practicals in AS Syllabus
Unit 1:

1.1 The effect of caffeine on heart rate

1.2 The vitamin C content of fruit juice

2.1 The effect of temperature on membranes

2.2 Enzyme concentration and rate of reaction

Unit 2:

3.1 Observing mitosis

3.2 Totipotency and plant tissue culture

4.1 The strength of plant fibres

4.2 Investigating plant mineral deficiencies

4.3 The antimicrobial properties of plants

Some key expressions:

Control Variable: A factor that is kept constant so that its effects on the dependent
variable are consistent throughout all experiments

Independent Variable: The factor that affects the dependent variable. The factor you
change.

Dependent Variable: The factor that is affected by the independent variable. The
factor you measure.

Reliability: The same results are recorded if the experiment is repeated. Standard
deviation and / or standard error are excellent measures of reliability.

Accuracy: There is little difference between your results and the recorded “true”
results

Validity: A combination of accuracy and reliability. Valid results are representative

and can be used to make accurate predictions.
 Near East College- AS Biology-Notes

Some basic rules for drawing graphs

- The independent variable should be normally on the horizontal axis and the
dependent variable on the vertical axis.
- Each axis should be clearly labelled, including units and have a correct scale.
- All plotted points must be shown clearly.
- All graphs should be of reasonable size.

- It is advisable to join points with a straight line.

 Near East College- AS Biology-Notes

Bar Charts are used when the independent variable on the horizontal axis is not
a continuous scale but a distinct category. Columns do not touch each other. A
bar chart is the simplest way to display two means.

Error bars

They are used to show the variability of data on graphs to enable you to analyse the
data in an objective way. If the error bars show a lot of variability in a laboratory
investigation in which you intended to control the variables carefully, then they may
indicate a flaw in your planning.

*** A much simpler way is to use a range bar, where the bar represents the highest
and lowest values above and below the mean.
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If there is considerable overlap between error bars, then variability is very high and
reliability is low. Students should be able to identify factors that may decrease the
reliability of the results. The same results are recorded if the experiment is repeated.
Standard deviation / standard error are excellent measures of reliability.

Drawing a table

The IV ( independent variable) comes in the 1st column. Arrange values in ascending
order. Label all columns and rows appropriately and accurately. Include SI units
(International Standard units – i.e. Metric units) in the headings of the columns and
rows. Be consistent with significant figures / decimal places.

QUESTION 2 notes

-Identifying the problem or a question

 A clear statement of a precise problem or question the report is about.

 This problem or question must be biological but not necessarily linked to the
specification
 There must be a description that explains exactly what the problem or question
is and the biology behind it.

- Describing how the problem was solved

 This section must describe clearly the work of biologists and what they are
doing to solve the problem or to answer the question you have identified.

 Make sure you describe the work of biologists, not just the technical details of
the solutions

What is meant by implications?

There are four types of implications you might consider – ethical, social, economic
and environmental.

Ethical Implications
You must be clear what is meant by an ethical issue. You are expected to understand
both what is meant by an ethical viewpoint and that different people may hold
different ethical views on the same issue. Many issues are not simply “right or
wrong”.
 Near East College- AS Biology-Notes

Social implications
Social implications are those that will have a direct effect on other human individuals
or groups.

Economic Implications
In many cases it can be simply a question of expense and affordability on either a
national scale or an individual scale

Environmental Implications
Environmental Implications are concerned with the effect of the solution on other
plants, animals and ecosystems. Both sides of the arguments should be discussed, not
just state one fixed point.

Naming sources accurately in a bibliography – Referencing

A web- based reference will be in the following format:

Authorship or Source, Year. Title of web document or web page.[type of medium]

(date of update if available) Available at: include web site address/URL [Accessed
date]

A scientific journal will be in the following format:

Author, Initials, Year. Title of article, Full Title of Journal, Volume number
(Issue/Part number), Page numbers.
 Near East College- AS Biology-Notes

Practical Summary for Unit 1

Effect of caffeine on Daphnia heart rate

Independent variable: Caffeine concentration

Dependent Variable: Heart rate of Daphnia

Other variables to be controlled:

Temperature
Volume of solutions
Stress of Daphnia
Size of Daphnia
Time of acclimatisation

Other Equipment: Microscope counter, cavity slide, dropping pipettes, stop clock, distilled
water, test tubes, stop clock.

Method: Remove 1 Daphnia and place in cavity slide. Remove pond water and replace with
distilled water. Leave for 5mins to acclimatise then observe & count heart rate under
microscope for 30s, multiply number by 2 to calculate beats/min. Repeat with 2 more
Daphnia. Repeat again, this time with small concn of caffeine solution in place of distilled
water. Carry out for 5 concn of caffeine = 3 repeats at 3 concn .

Outcome: as caffeine concn increased, heart rate increased

Possible evaluation issues

 Ensuring Daphnia were same size

 Left too long under microscope, tempe  (due to lamp) = increased heart rate
 Ensuring enough data is collected
 Too high concn of caffeine kills Daphnia
 Counting of heart beat can be inaccurate
 Near East College- AS Biology-Notes

The Vitamin C content of fruit juice

IV: Different type of fruit juices

DV: the amount of fruit juice needed to decolorise DCPIP.

Other variables to be controlled

 Temperature
 Concentration of DCPIP solution (1%)
 Shake each tube same no. times
 Same end point colour. i.e. until blue colour of DCPIP just disappears

Other Equipment

1% DCPIP solution, 1% vitamin C solution, range of fruit juices, test tubes/conical flasks,
beakers, pipette accurate to 1cm3, burette, safety goggles

Method: pipette 1cm3 blue DCPIP into test tube. Using burette (or accurate pipette) add 1%
vitamin C solution drop by drop. Shake tube gently after each drop. Continue until the blue
colour just disappears. Record volume of solution needed to decolourise the DCPIP. Repeat
further 2 times and calculate mean result. Repeat procedure with different fruit juices.
Calculations: 1cm3 of 1% vitamin C solution contains 10mg Vitamin C, therefore

mass in 1cm3 = 10mg x volume of 1% vitamin C to decolourise 1cm3 of DCPIP.

Mass in sample = mass of vitamin C to decolourise 1cm3 DCPIP volume of sample required
to decolourise 1cm3 DCPIP

Possible Evaluation Issues:

 Difficulty in controlling temperature

 Amount of shaking (too much adds oxygen which will slightly restore the DCPIP to blue)
 End point difficult to judge as needs to be just when blue colour disappears especially in
highly coloured juices
 Some loss of solution when transferring
 Near East College- AS Biology-Notes

The effect of temperature on cell membranes

IV: Temperature of water

DV: % transmission of light through resulting solution

Other variables to be controlled:

Volume of distilled water
Time left in water
Size of beetroot piece

Other equipment :
Raw beetroot ,cork borer, white tile, knife, ruler, beaker, forceps, water baths, boiling tubes,
thermometer, colorimeter and cuvettes, stop clock, distilled water, syringe.

Method : using cork borer and knife, cut pieces of beetroot into 1 cm length cylinders. Place
in distilled water to remove any dye released on preparation. Wash and blot dry. Place 8
boiling tubes of distilled water into 8 water baths of different temperature. Once at
temperature, add a piece of beetroot to each and leave for 30 mins. Remove beetroot and
shake tubes to disperse dye. Set colorimeter to % absorbance on blue/green filter. Calibrate
using distilled water in a cuvette first then add 2cm3 of beetroot solution from the first temp
to a new cuvette. Place into colorimeter to read % absorbance. Repeat for all other pieces.

Possible Evaluation Issues:

 Some beetroot may have skin on affecting surface area.

 Difficulty in maintaining temperature
 Accurate reading of the colorimeter
 Accurate size of beetroot
 From the different parts of the root
 Ensuring same amount of time at the different temperatures
 Near East College- AS Biology-Notes

The effect of changing enzyme concentration on rate of reaction.

IV: concentration of enzyme

DV: time taken for enzyme to break down substrate

Other variables to be controlled:

 Temperature
 Volume of enzyme
 Volume of substrate
 Concentration of substrate
 pH

Other Equipment:
Using catalase in yeast and hydrogen peroxide

Method: using first concn of yeast solution, acclimatise to desired temperature alongside
separate tube of hydrogen peroxide. Set up gas syringe and set to 0. Quickly add peroxide to
yeast and attach gas syringe. Read off the volume of O2 gas produced every 10 mins until 3
readings the same. Repeat 3x for each concn of yeast solution.

Possible Evaluation Issues:

 Attaching syringe can be slower allowing loss of gas

 Inaccurate reading of gas syringe in making up dilutions
 Reaction going too quickly to read