Stefany Alicea

AP Biology
John Horton
Every day, for every second our body breathes to keep us alive. This is not exclusive to
just humans, every living organism breathes through a process called cellular respiration, even
plants. During this quarter, the AP Biology class has been learning about cellular respiration and
photosynthesis. There are two type of chemical reactions, exergonic, which is where a net loss
of energy, and endergonic where the is a net gain of energy. Photosynthesis is an endergonic
reaction, which converts the energy in sunlight (and water/Co2) to glucose and oxygen. Cellular
respiration, on the other hand, uses glucose and O2, and converts it to energy, in a more usable
form (ATP, with a byproduct of CO2).
However, many environmental factors can play a huge role in these processes. For
plants, the wavelength of the suns light, the color of the leaf, and even the amount of sunlight,
would determine the rate of photosynthesis. For Cellular respiration, temperature and the
amount of energy (glucose/food) they have would cause an organism to either increase or
decrease their respiration to keep their optimal body temperature.
Small animals use cellular respiration as a way to keep a constant energy flow in their
bodies. For this lab, the chosen organism was crickets, due to their small size and accessibility.
The driving question for this lab was: What effect does temperature have on crickets and their
respiration? While the labs hypothesis is the following: If the temperature is cooler, then the rate
of respiration will be lower. A brief overview of the lab:
Driving Questions: What effect does temperature have on crickets and their respiration.
Hypotheses: If the temperature is cooler, then the rate of respiration will be lower.
Independent Variable: Temperature
Dependent Variable: Cellular respiration of Crickets
Materials:
Photosynthesis Tank
Large #14 Rubber Stopper with Sensor ports
#3 Rubber Stopper (to cover where the temp. sensor was inserted)
PASCO CO2 (Carbon Dioxide Gas Sensor)
Sample bottle (to calibrate)
PASCO SPARKlink (including all wires/cables)
Controlled Variables:
amount of crickets (10)
type of crickets
Time: 8 minutes
Control Group:
1. Will be left in room temperature.
2. 8 minutes (at the beginning of the experiment)
3. 3 crickets
Experimental Group 1:
1. 3 Crickets in the container
2. Placed inside a warm for 8 minutes (door slightly closed)

3. Record data
Experimental Group 2:
1. 3 crickets in a the container
2. Placed in an ice water for 8 minutes
3. Record data
Experimental Group 3:
1. 3 crickets in a the container
2. Placed in the hot water for 8 minutes
3. Record data
Procedure:
1. Place 10 crickets in a Photosynthesis Tank, at room temperature for 8 minutes.
2. Record all data (temperature, CO2 concentration, O2 concentration)
3. Place the container in a Photosynthesis Tank, and fill the outside with cold water (filled
with 5 pounds of ice).
4. Close cover
5. Record Data
6. Repeat steps 1-2
7. Place the container in a Photosynthesis Tank with warm water, door slightly opened.
8. Record data
9. Repeat steps 1-2
10. Place the container in the Photosynthesis Tank Hot water, for 8 minutes.
11. Record data
12. Repeat steps 1-2
*Note: The same three crickets were used throughout this lab. Either way, the lab should work
the same way, if different crickets are used for different temperature.
Results:
To make the results more understandable, I will break them down into three stages:
WarmTemperature, HotTemperature, and Coldtemperature.
i. Crickets: WarmTemp.
Warm Temperature. Graph #1

In this part of the lab, three crickets were placed in a container, with the surrounding one
filled with warm water (from the tap). During the 8 minute period, the crickets would move
around slightly. The warm water increased the temperature by about 10C (the room
temperature was about 27.8 degrees celsius). This didnt seemed to have affected the crickets
behavior, as their movements became minimum and there was a moment where they stopped
moving. The CO2 concentration, which measure the rate of respiration, increased however. For
example, if the crickets are breathing at a faster rate, then the rate of CO2 will increase. On the
other hand, if the CO2 concentration is going down, then the crickets are breathing at a slower
rate (and therefore releasing less CO2). What this graph shows is the relationship between the
temperature and the CO2 concentration; as the temperature went up (and stayed at a relative
warm temperature, never reaching under 36 degrees) the CO2 concentration increased. To
conclude, the CO2 increased constantly, since the container remained at a relative 36 degrees
Celsius, making it so the crickets had to use energy to keep a stable body temperature.

ii. Crickets: HotTemperature

Hot Temperature. Graph #2

During this part of the lab, instead of adding warm tap water, water that had been heated
for 15 minutes (before) was poured in the outer shell of the container. As you can tell, the
temperature was not graphed, but you are still able to see the connection between the
temperature and the CO2 concentration. The temperature is high, making the rate of CO2
increase at a faster rate.
When you compare the CO2 concentration of Graph #1 to Graph #2. In graph #1 the
rate of CO2 concentration increased by roughly 500ppm, while in Graph #2 it increase by about
650ppm.This is a simple way to conclude that the hotter temperature had a more significant
effect on the rate or respiration. In this part of the experiment, the crickets moved the most,
respectably; they would go on top of each other and move around, but nothing major. This lead
me to conclude that the temperature not only had an effect on their respiration, but their
behavior.

iii. Crickets: ColdTemperature

This part of the experiment was the most distinct, solely on the fact that the temperature was
colder than the regular 27.8C, and that it was changing faster than the other two. Instead of
doing a continuous 8 minute experiment, the lab was split up into two 3.5-4 minute intervals; this
allowed the graph to be viewed easier. This did not alter the data collected however. As you can
tell the rate of CO2 was not as high as the warmer temperatures. In fact, the CO2 concentration
only increased (during the whole experiment) by about 350-400ppm, much less that the other
two graphs, whom had CO2 increases of 500ppm (graph #1) and 650ppm (graph #2). This is
understandable as these crickets had to preserve their energy to keep themselves warm for a
longer time. During the duration of this experiment the crickets were still and barely moved
about.
Conclusion:
Throughout this experiment I was able to analyze the effect of different temperatures on
cricket cellular respiration. My hypothesis was that: If the temperature is cooler, then the rate of
respiration will be lower. This lab concluded that my hypothesis was correct. As the temperature
decreases (through the different stages of the lab), the concentration of CO2 decreased.
The three different graphs serve to represent the three temperatures people usually
encounter: cold, warm and hot. Exposing the crickets to these temperature is a way to figure out
the effects of temperature on their respiration. From the conclusions, temperature has a
profound effect on respiration as it determines how much energy an individual uses. An example
that is more relatable would be when humans exercise, their bodies heat up thus requiring a
larger amount of energy usage. On the other hand, when a human has been out in the cold for a
while, the human body tries to preserve as much energy as possible. Understanding the effects
of temperature on the body, and moreover cellular respiration would make it easier to
understand the roles the environment plays in an individuals energy usage.