4/11/10

Practical – Monitoring the Fermentation of Glucose

Aim: To investigate the fermentation of glucose.

Hypothesis: The mass of the flask will continue to lower as the carbon
dioxide leaves the flask and escapes through the limewater.

Equipment:

- 50 mL Erlenmeyer flask - Delivery tube and stopper

- 5g sachet of dried yeast - Small beaker of limewater

- 10-20g glucose - Evaporating dish

- 40mL warm water (30-40ºC) - Thermometer

– Actually 36.5
- Safety goggles
- Small beaker
- Electric balance
- Ordinary Stopper

Risk Assessment:

Risks Precautions Response

Broken Glass, dropping Hold with both hands, Use a dustpan to pick up
equipment place in middle of bench glass. Notify teacher of
breakages.
Cutting self on glass Wear gloves if possible, Wash hand under cold
do not directly touch water until bleeding has
broken glass, place stopped. Apply pressure
broken glassware in glass with bandage to reduce
bin. bleeding, if severe, seek
assistance or call
emergency.
Tripping on bags, cords, Tuck chairs, cords, and Check for injuries, if
chairs obstacles away from injuries present alert
open areas. Leave bags teacher, register first aid.
outside the classroom Move outstanding items
back into place.
Contamination of food, Do not take food in the Any food in the lab
contamination of lab, do not consume any should be discarded and
chemicals substances in the lab. not eaten. If medical
Read labels carefully, do attention is required after
not return substances to eating food, call poison
source container. hotline.
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Inhaling or ingesting or Wear safety goggles, Wipe up any spills

being affected by toxic waft instead of smelling, immediately, if toxic
chemical substances (i.e. place items in fume poisoning has occurred,
untied hair, from spills) cupboard when not in notify teacher, wash eyes
use, tie up hair. Measure or mouth out with water
liquids into beaker before immediately. No not
measuring cylinders to directly inhale fumes.
avoid spills.

Method:

1. Erlenmeyer flask was placed on the electric balance, weighed,

recorded and tared. 5g of yeast was then placed in the flask.

2. A beaker of hot water was cooled down by adding cold water as the
temperature was continually measured. This was cooled to a
temperature of 36.5 degrees Celsius, and then 40mL of the warm
water was measured into a beaker.

3. 15g of glucose was measured in an evaporating dish after the dish

had been tared. This was added to the flask at the same time as the
water, and the stopper added to the flask.

4. The flask was swirled to ensure the contents were mixed, and using
a finger to hold the delivery tube closed, the tube was submerged
within a small beaker of limewater.

5. The mass of the flask was quickly taken using an electronic balance,
reading to the nearest 0.1g. This measurement was repeated after 5
and 10 minutes, the next day, on day 5 and day 9. Any patterns of
decreasing or increasing mass were recorded in the results, and
observations and unexpected values were recorded in the results
and discussion.

Results:

Mass of Erlenmeyer flask = 563 g

Temperature of water = 36.6ºC

Time of Recording Mass Mass of

(minutes) (g) Substances (g)
0 614.4 51.4
5 633.3 70.3
10 633.8 70.8
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Day 2 638.1 75.1

Day 5 637.1 74.1
Day 9 629.9 66.9
Discussion:

The experiment was testing the effect of fermentation of glucose on the

mass of a solution. As glucose fermented (with heat as a reaction booster)
with yeast as the catalyst, the molecule broke down into carbon dioxide
and ethanol. Carbon dioxide was released through the delivery tube and
into the limewater. A white tinged crust formed on top of the limewater as
a result of calcium carbonate being formed when carbon dioxide is
bubbled through. The calcium carbonate, an insoluble substance cannot
dissolve in the limewater and therefore provides a layer on top,
preventing the carbon dioxide from escaping.

C6H12O6(aq) (catalyst = yeast, with heat) 2C2H5OH(aq) + 2C02(g)

The mass of the solution should have been reduced at the end of the
experiment due to the loss of the carbon dioxide, but the result obtained
did not mirror this. First, the mass increased by a large amount, possible
due to air being let into the flask. It continued to increase over the next
couple of days, but by only a small amount, possible due to inaccurate
measurements on the electric balance (due to placement of beaker on
table, placement of flask on balance and angle of tube). The produced
carbon dioxide in the large flask that was used may have remained within
the flask instead of exiting through the delivery tube, increasing the mass
of the flask. After day two, the mass began to decrease again by quite a
large amount but never reached the original mass of the flask. This
suggests that the original measurement of mass was inaccurate, due to
human, reading or other errors.

The experiment is fairly reliable as repetitions of measurements were

made by each individual, but would have been more reliable if each
person collaborated results and made averages to obtain a more accurate
answer. Sterilisation of equipment before the experiment, a more exact
measurement of reactants and more progressive measuring of masses
could have been used to improve the experiment. Also, a smaller flask
could have been used to reduce the chance of air entering the flask in
order to obtain a more accurate result. The experiment could have also
have been made more reliable by using the same electric balance the
entire time, from beginning to end of the experiment.

Conclusion:
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The reaction of the fermentation of glucose involves the use of heat and a
catalyst of yeast. It reduced the glucose molecule into carbon dioxide gas,
and ethanol. The mass of the Erlenmeyer flask should decrease as carbon
dioxide exits the delivery tube throughout the experiment. Therefore, the
hypothesis that the mass will decrease throughout the experiment was
not supported by the obtained results, and a number of improvements
could have been made to improve the accuracy of this result.