Alejandro Ivn Navarro Villarreal

May 2014
IB candidate number 2106-0050
Biology HL Internal Assessment Lab Design practice
Practice #1










Diffusion of artificial dye in water
INTRODUCTION
Among the most common processes in living things is diffusion
1
. Diffusion is the
movement of a substance (called the solute) from an area of high concentration to one of
low concentration (the solute is usually dissolved in a solvent)
6
. Diffusion speed depends
on many factors, like: size of the solute particle, concentration difference, distance of
diffusion, and temperature, among others
1
. It is this last factor that is very important; we
have probably noticed that dissolving instant coffee in hot water is faster than dissolving
cocoa in cold milk. Temperature could be interpreted as the amount of energy a particle
has; the more energy, the higher the temperature
6
. So, if a particle has high temperature,
or high energy, it will move and thus diffuse faster than a cold particle. The aim of this
practice is to prove this relationship between heat of solution and diffusion speed, to prove
that as temperature goes up, so does diffusion speed.
RESEARCH QUESTION
The research question for this experiment is: How does water temperature affect the
diffusion speed of a vegetable dye?
The hypothesis is as follows: The hotter the water is, the faster it will diffuse; the colder it
is, the slower it will diffuse. This is because at higher temperatures particles have more
energy and move faster, so the dye molecules will advance further down the container
much faster than in a cold environment where the particles dont move as much.
VARIABLES
Independent variable: Water temperature. This will be achieved using an incubator
and measured in C by an alcohol thermometer within the incubator.
Dependent variable: Rate of diffusion. This will be obtained using a stopwatch to
measure the time it takes the dye to reach the bottom.
Controlled variables:
Temperature of dye: If the dyes temperature is not constant, it will change
the results because it will diffuse faster or slower; this was controlled
keeping the dye in an area with a constant temperature (ambient
temperature) before and during the experiment.
Ambient temperature: Ambient temperature can modify solvent and solute
temperature and so modify results. This was minimized by keeping the
room temperature at a constant value (in this case, 23 C).
Amount of dye: If we use different quantities of dye our measurements may
not stay the same because they will not appear to diffuse at the same rate;
this was controlled by using the same amount of dye (one drop from the
integrated dropper) in all repetitions.
Amount of water: If we use more or less water then diffusion rate will be
eschewed; it will take less time to diffuse in a little water than in a large
amount of water. This was controlled by using the same amount of water
(10 mL) in all repetitions.
Agitation of solution: If the solution is agitated or otherwise disturbed, it will
diffuse more rapidly because of the extra energy imparted; this was
controlled by keeping the experiment in a stable work place and moving the
solution around as little as possible, as will as letting the container with
newly poured water rest for a little while (5 minutes) before proceeding.
Composition of dye: If we change the dye we use (and thus the dye
composition), results will not be homogeneous and we will not be able to
conclude. This was kept under control by using the same dye for all
repetitions.
Change in water temperature: Water temperature decreases by virtue of
being in an environment with a different temperature; this will affect the
results, but it was minimized by keeping the water inside the incubator for
as long as possible.
MATERIALS
a) Aquatech 1/100 sec chronometer (+/- .01 sec) (1)
b) Kimax 10 mL graduated cylinder (+/-5%) (3)
c) Pyrex 250 mL beaker (+/-5%) (1)
d) Incubator. This device consists of a box with a grill for placing the material to be
used, a thermometer and a glass door. (1)
e) Refrigerator. A normal refrigerator with a glass door, used at a temperature of 2 C.

SUBSTANCES
a) Distilled water (250 mL)
b) Brand green food dye. Its components are: water, propylenglycol, artificial coloring
yellow 4, red 17, blue 1 and red 14 in unknown quantities, plus propylparabene as
a conservative.
PROCEDURE
1. Get all the equipment mentioned in the list above. Use the beaker to hold the
water.
2. Measure 10 mL of distilled water in the graduated cylinder.
3. Place the graduated cylinder in the incubator until the correct temperature is
reached (for example, 2 C).
4. With the utmost care and keeping the water from getting too agitated, take the
graduated cylinder out and place it on the work table. Make sure to do the following
steps as quickly as possible to minimize temperature change.
5. Place the dye container upside down (so the dropper faces the water) and quirt
one drop of dye. Make sure it goes straight down and not down a side (if this
happens, clean the cylinder and repeat from the beginning).
6. As soon as the drop reaches the water, start the chronometer. Make sure you
watch the drop diffuse from a level surface.
7. When the drop reaches the bottom, stop the watch.
8. Register the time in seconds.
9. Repeat steps 1 through 8 fourteen more times, for a total of fifteen repetitions (at 2
C, following the example).
10. Repeat steps 1 through 9 five times, for a total of 15 repetitions per temperature (at
2 C, 23 C, 30 C, 45 C, and 58 C) or a total of 75 repetitions.






RAW DATA
Table 1. Diffusion time (in seconds) per water temperature (in C)
Temperature
Time 1
(+/-.01 s)
Time 2
(+/-.01 s)
Time 3
(+/-.01 s)
Time 4
(+/-.01 s)
Time 5
(+/-.01 s)
Time 6
(+/-.01 s)
Time 7
(+/-.01 s)
2 C (+/-.05 C) 7.79 12.88 8.56 10.37 8.80 8.13 9.13
23 C (+/-.05
C) 11.04 8.60 8.69 8.75 7.62 11.37 13.41
30 C (+/-.05
C) 7.31 13.68 15.87 13.44 11.88 7.71 8.28
45 C (+/-.05
C) 12.47 8.91 10.98 6.19 9.03 7.41 9.00
58 C (+/-.05
C) 8.75 9.25 6.63 7.03 13.31 9.00 7.75

Table 2. Diffusion time (in seconds) per water temperature (in C), continued.
Time 8
(+/-.01 s)
Time 9
(+/-.01 s)
Time 10
(+/-.01 s)
Time 11
(+/-.01 s)
Time 12
(+/-.01 s)
Time 13
(+/-.01 s)
Time 14
(+/-.01 s)
Average
time
(+/-.01 s)
8.37 12.58 7.25 7.57 8.69 10.56 10.9 9.40
9.57 10.78 8.31 11.97 10.91 11.37 9.03 10.10
8.40 7.66 14.56 7.53 15.25 14.59 6.72 10.92
7.78 13.22 7.15 9.31 15.75 8.32 7.03 9.47
9.76 8.15 8.75 5.18 6.25 7.31 9.03 8.30






DATA PRESENTATION
Table 1. Diffusion speeds of dye in water at 2 C









0.00
1.00
2.00
3.00
4.00
5.00
6.00
7.00
8.00
9.00
10.00
11.00
12.00
13.00
14.00
15.00
16.00
17.00
18.00
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14
T
i
m
e

i
n

s
e
c
o
n
d
s

(
+
/
-
.
0
1

s
)

Repetition number
Diffusion speeds of dye in water at 2 C
2 C (+/-.05 C)
Lineal (2 C (+/-.05 C))

Table 2. Diffusion speeds of dye in water at 23 C








0.00
1.00
2.00
3.00
4.00
5.00
6.00
7.00
8.00
9.00
10.00
11.00
12.00
13.00
14.00
15.00
16.00
17.00
18.00
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14
T
i
m
e

i
n

s
e
c
o
n
d
s

(
+
/
-
.
0
1

s
)

Repetition number
Diffusion speeds of dye in water at 23 C
23 C (+/-.05 C)
Lineal (23 C (+/-.05 C))

Table 3. Diffusion speeds of dye in water at 30 C









1.00
2.00
3.00
4.00
5.00
6.00
7.00
8.00
9.00
10.00
11.00
12.00
13.00
14.00
15.00
16.00
17.00
18.00
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14
T
i
m
e

i
n

s
e
c
o
n
d
s

(
+
/
-
.
0
1

s
)

Repetition number
Diffusion speeds of dye in water at 30 C
30 C (+/-.05 C)
Lineal (30 C (+/-.05 C))

Table 4. Diffusion speeds of dye in water at 45 C








0.00
1.00
2.00
3.00
4.00
5.00
6.00
7.00
8.00
9.00
10.00
11.00
12.00
13.00
14.00
15.00
16.00
17.00
18.00
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14
T
i
m
e

i
n

s
e
c
o
n
d
s

(
+
/
-
.
0
1

s
)

Repetition number
Diffusion speeds of dye in water at 45 C
45 C (+/-.05 C)
Lineal (45 C (+/-.05 C))

Table 5. Diffusion speeds of dye in water at 58 C








0.00
1.00
2.00
3.00
4.00
5.00
6.00
7.00
8.00
9.00
10.00
11.00
12.00
13.00
14.00
15.00
16.00
17.00
18.00
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14
T
i
m
e

i
n

s
e
c
o
n
d
s

(
+
/
-
.
0
1

s
)

Repetition number
Diffusion speeds of dye in water at 45 C
45 C (+/-.05 C)
Lineal (45 C (+/-.05 C))

Table 6. Average time per temperature category









0.00 1.00 2.00 3.00 4.00 5.00 6.00 7.00 8.00 9.00 10.00 11.00 12.00 13.00 14.00 15.00 16.00 17.00 18.00
1
2
3
4
5
Time in seconds (+/- .01 s)
T
e
m
p
e
r
a
t
u
r
e

n
u
m
b
e
r

Average time per temperature category
Average
Lineal (Average)

CONCLUSION
In the hypothesis, it was stated that diffusion rate would increase as temperature
increased, since temperature is directly proportional to diffusion rate
1
. However, this was
not the case in the experiment, since the values rise until they peak at 30 C, and then
drop back down. At a first glance, this proves the hypothesis wrong in the first place, but it
also goes against what literature says is true. There is one small detail which may redeem
this practice, though: at 2 C, the drop went down in a very controlled line, with very little
outwards diffusion, while at higher temperatures, the drop went down more slowly but it
diffused more quickly, with the drop almost disappearing practically at the start at 58 C.
This is the reason why it slowed down as temperature went up; it lost irs cohesion and
thus its contained energy, and spread around the cylinder faster, but went down slower
(since it no longer held that level of cohesion; similar to how a knife easily cuts straight
through butter and a palm will not go through the butter as quickly but it will get through
more butter). Thus, it could be said that diffusion speed does increase with temperature,
but we would need another experiment to quantify this. The data range (15x5; fifteen
repetitions per category, at five categories) is sufficient, but the data is way too dispersed
to conclude something with credibility, as shown by the very large error bars and the huge
differences between times in each repetition range. The range could have probably been
better, but that is a limitation of the equipment available to the lab.
To conclude, linear diffusion speed does not follow a set pattern (data is extremely chaotic
and the graphs are not dependable, as the very large error bars show), but it was
observed that overall diffusion rate seemed to increase as temperature increased, so the
hypothesis is correct.









EVALUATION
This practice lacked very much in control of variables, not in amount of variables
controlled, but in the quality of a few variables; these being the waters temperature and
measurement of diffusion speed. The most egregious mistake was probably relying on the
incubators ambient thermometer rather than measuring the waters temperature directly. It
would have been far better to use a thermoagitator (ideally inside an incubator at the
desired temperature) to reach the temperature and then to quickly pour the drop, than the
method used here. Also, instead of measuring the speed at which the drop fell, it would
have been better to measure the speed at which the drop completely dissolved in the
water. The data analysis was appropriate, but perhaps it would have been better to
discriminate data in this practice, to acquire a better picture of the relationship. The
practice was very simple, so a very in-depth analysis is not needed, but some correlation
tests may have been helpful. A range with greater temperature differences would have
been more adequate, but that is a limitation of the equipment available to us (a greater
range could have been achieved using the thermoagitator). Overall, a better practice could
have resulted with more adequate equipment (namely, the thermoagitator and a
thermometer for measuring the temperature).













ANNEXES
Annex 1. Incubator






Thermometer
Door
Grill
Temperature control
knob
On/off
switch






Annex 2. Experiment setup

REFERENCES
1. http://www.austincc.edu/emeyerth/diffuse2.htm
2. http://www.tiem.utk.edu/~gross/bioed/webmodules/diffusion.htm
3. http://www.southampton.ac.uk/~engmats/xtal/diffusion/diffusion.htm
4. http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/kinetic/diffus.html
5. Miller, K. R., and J. S. Levine. Biology. Boston: Pearson Education, 2010. Print.
Dropper
Graduated cylinder
6. Buthelezi, Thandi, Laurel Dingrando, Nicholas Hainen, Cheryl Wistrom, and Dinah
Zike. Chemistry: Matter and Change, student edition. Glencoe/McGraw-Hill.
Columbus: Glencoe/McGraw-Hill, 2008. Print.