Cellular Respiration Lab Report
Name Date
Cellular Respiration Lab Report
Directions: Complete each lab procedure in the order it is presented. Be sure to
document your investigation by thoroughly completing each activity, such as filling
in the tables, uploading any necessary photos or drawings, and answering each
question.
This lab will take place over two days. On the first day, you will germinate the pea
seeds and explore the Rate of Respiration OLABS Activity. On the second day, you
will assemble the respirometers and use them to measure the gas exchange from
the germinated peas.
Materials
You will need the following materials to complete this lab:
• abso
ent cotton
• dried pea seeds
• eye protection goggles
• eyedroppe
• glass beads (Plastic can be used if no glass beads are available.)
• ice
• KAH lye solution
• latex or nitrile gloves
• nonabso
ent cotton
• paper towels
• plastic bin or containe
• plastic syringes (4)
• plastic ziplock bag
Safety Note
KAH lye is caustic, and will burn unprotected skin. Always wear gloves and goggles
when handling it.
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Day 1: Germinating Peas
The seeds will take 2–3 days to germinate, so this step must be done immediately:
1. Gather your pea seeds, ziplock bag, and paper towels.
2. Soak a paper towel in warm water, then wring it out until it is damp but not
dripping.
3. Empty half your pea seeds onto the paper towel (the other half will go into a
espirometer ungerminated).
4. Fold the paper towel over the peas, then fold in the sides to create a pocket
so the peas stay in place.
5. Slide the paper towel pocket into the bag and seal it.
6. Place the bag in a warm, out-of-the-way spot. Label the bag if necessary.
Rate of Respiration OLABS Activity
Use the link on the slide to access the Rate of Respiration OLABS Activity. Complete
the activity. Be aware that the lab you will perform uses different materials and
processes than the alternative online OLABS Activity. Now that you are familiar
with one method use to measure the rate of cellular respiration, watch the AP
Biology Lab 5 - Cellular Respiration video. Write down any notes in your notebook
about the process of building and using a respirometer.
Write Your Hypothesis
The first step in any scientific inquiry is creating a hypothesis. Read over the
following Respirometer activity. What results are you expecting to find? Use this
space to write a hypothesis for the results you expect to see from this lab
investigation.
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Day 2: Building and Using Respirometers
Building the Respirometer
Once the pea seeds have germinated, follow these steps to build a set of four
espirometers:
1. Use the link in the slide to access the Rate of Respiration OLABS activity and
the AP Biology Lab 5 - Cellular Respiration Video. You do not need to do the
activity again, but give it a quick review to refresh your memory.
2. Put on your gloves and goggles, and tie back any long hair.
3. Gather the plastic syringes, abso
ent and non-abso
ent cotton, and lye
solution.
4. Take four pieces of abso
ent cotton, soak them in the lye solution, and place
one in each of the four plastic syringes. Be sure to keep your gloves and
goggles securely in place during this step.
5. Take four pieces of nonabso
ent cotton and place one on top of the piece of
lye-soaked cotton in each syringe. Make sure the nonabso
ent cotton is large
enough to completely cover the lye-soaked cotton.
Testing Gas Exchange
Now you will use your respirometers to perform a cellular respiration experiment.
1. Gather the 4 respirometers, the germinated and ungerminated peas, the
glass beads, a container for the water bath, and a cup of ice.
2. Place 25 germinated peas in the first syringe.
3. Place 25 germinated peas in the second syringe, then put this respiromete
into the cup of ice.
4. Place 25 ungerminated peas in the third syringe. Use beads to make up any
difference in volume between this respirometer and the first one.
5. Fill the fourth syringe with enough beads to match the volume of the other 3
syringes. This is your control.
6. Label the syringes (1–4) with a marker and masking tape.
7. Fill the container with 25-degree (Celsius) water. Place the respirometer with
the germinated peas, the respirometer with the non-germinated peas, and
the control respirometer into the water. Lower the respirometers in at an
angle, let them rest at an angle for a few minutes to equalize, then lowe
them the rest of the way into the water.
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8. Take an initial reading of the respirometers by measuring how far the fluid
has moved into the syringe (in millimeters), and record the data on the table
elow.
9. Take an initial reading from the respirometer that is on ice. Record that data
as well.
10.Take additional readings from all four respirometers after 5, 10, 15, 20, and
25 minutes.
Respirometer Readings
Germinated
Peas (Room
Temperature)
Germinated
Peas (Ice)
Ungerminated
Peas
Beads
(Control)
Initial
Reading
5 min.
10 min.
15 min.
20 min.
25 min.
Cleaning Up
Once you have recorded your data, clean up the area. Be sure to keep your gloves
and goggles on until you have disposed of the lye-soaked cotton and anything it
might have touched, and empty out the water and ice.
Time
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Lab Review
1) Look at the hypothesis you wrote on day 1 of this lab investigation. Does
your data support this hypothesis? If not, how do the results alter you
hypothesis?
2) Using the data from your table, create a graph that illustrates how the
volume of gas produced in each respirometer changed over time. You can
draw your graph in the space below, or upload a separate image.
3) Write your answers to the following questions.
a. Could this same respirometer system be used to measure the rate of
espiration in small inverte
ates, such as insects or earthworms?
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. This investigation measured the respiration of ungerminated seeds and
newly-germinated seeds. Based on this data, what would be the
espiration in seeds at later stages of germination?
c. This investigation focused on the respiration rate of a single type of
seed, which stores its energy in sugar. However, other plants have
seeds that store energy in oil. Some examples are sunflower seeds,
sesame seeds, and nuts. What different respiration rates would you
hypothesize from these seeds?
d. Does temperature or germination time play a more important role in
determining the respiration rate? Support your answer with data from
your table, and explain why this is the case.
e. How do your observations from this activity relate to the process of
cellular respiration? Refer to reactants and products of the reaction in
your response.
Cellular Respiration Lab Report
Materials
Safety Note
Day 1: Germinating Peas
Cell Respiration Lab Bench Activity
Write Your Hypothesis
Day 2: Building and Using Respirometers
Building the Respiromete
Testing Gas Exchange
Respirometer Readings
Cleaning Up
Lab Review
Name:
Date:
Ungerminated PeasInitial Reading:
Germinated Peas (Room Temperature) Initial Reading:
Germinated Peas (Ice) Initial Reading:
Beads (Control) Initial Reading:
Germinated Peas (Room Temperature) 5 min:
Germinated Peas (Ice) 5 min:
Ungerminated Peas 5 min:
Beads (Control) 5 min:
Germinated Peas (Room Temperature) 10 min:
Germinated Peas (Ice) 10 min:
Ungerminated Peas 10 min:
Beads (Control) 10 min:
Germinated Peas (Room Temperature) 15 min:
Germinated Peas (Ice) 15 min:
Ungerminated Peas 15 min:
Beads (Control) 15 min:
Germinated Peas (Room Temperature) 20 min:
Germinated Peas (Ice) 20 min:
Ungerminated Peas 20 min:
Beads (Control) 20 min:
Germinated Peas (Room Temperature) 25 min:
Germinated Peas (Ice) 25 min:
Ungerminated Peas 25 min:
Beads (Control) 25 min:
Hypothesis Answer Space:
Lab Review Answer Space:
Button10:
Question Space 3:
Question Space b:
Question Space c:
Question Space d:
Question Space e: