IA 4: To Investigate the effect of different chemicals on the

permeability of membranes of beetroot tissue

DATA COLLECTION AND PROCESSING
Table 1: Uncertainty of apparatus used

Apparatus Uncertainty
5mL syringe 0.01mL
Ruler 0.01cm
Stopwatch 0.01s

Table 2: The colour intensity of alcohol solution left in test tubes after 20 minutes

Colour / Colour intensity of alcohol solution left in test tubes after 20 minutes (%) to one
Trial decimal place
1 2 3 4 5 Mean S.D
Red 72.7 76.3 75.0 71.3 71.7 73.4 2.0
Green 0.1 0.1 1.1 0.0 0.2 0.3 0.4
Blue 0.0 0.0 0.4 0.0 0.0 0.1 0.2

Table 3: The colour intensity of chloroform solution left in test tubes after 20 minutes

Colour / Colour intensity of chloroform solution left in test tubes after 20 minutes (%) to
Trial one decimal place
1 2 3 4 5 Mean S.D
Red 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 0.0
Green 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 0.0
Blue 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 0.0

Table 4: The colour intensity of sulphuric acid solution left in test tubes after 20 minutes

Colour / Colour intensity of sulphuric acid solution left in test tubes after 20 minutes (%) to
Trial one decimal place
1 2 3 4 5 Mean S.D
Red 60.6 65.0 63.0 56.7 60.6 61.8 2.8
Green 0.1 0.0 0.2 0.2 0.3 0.2 0.1
Blue 1.1 1.6 0.0 0.0 0.9 0.7 0.6
Table 5: The colour intensity of distilled water left in test tubes after 20 minutes

Colour / Colour intensity of distilled water left in test tubes after 20 minutes (%) to one
Trial decimal place
1 2 3 4 5 Mean S.D
Red 94.5 95.3 100.0 94.5 100 96.9 2.6
Green 61.8 61.2 60.0 62.5 63.1 63.1 1.1
Blue 91.0 89.4 87.7 92.0 88.0 88.0 1.7

Table 6: The colour intensity of distilled water in alcohol solution test tubes after 20 minutes

Colour / Colour intensity of distilled water in alcohol solution test tubes after 20 minutes
Trial (%) to one decimal place
1 2 3 4 5 Mean S.D
Red 74.0 76.1 74.4 74.1 78.4 75.4 1.7
Green 0.1 0.3 0.4 0.4 0.4 0.3 0.1
Blue 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.4 0.4 0.2 0.2

Table 7: The colour intensity of distilled water in chloroform solution test tubes after 20
minutes

Colour / Colour intensity of distilled water in chloroform solution test tubes after 20
Trial minutes (%) to one decimal place
1 2 3 4 5 Mean S.D
Red 79.1 74.4 72.5 72.4 81.8 76.0 3.7
Green 0.4 0.4 0.4 0.1 0.39 0.3 0.1
Blue 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0

Table 8: The colour intensity of distilled water in sulphuric acid solution test tubes after 20
minutes

Colour / Colour intensity of distilled water in sulphuric acid solution test tubes after 20
Trial minutes (%) to one decimal place
1 2 3 4 5 Mean S.D
Red 79.1 74.4 72.5 72.4 81.8 76.0 3.8
Green 0.4 0.4 0.4 0.1 0.4 0.3 0.1
Blue 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0
Table 9: The colour intensity of distilled water in distilled water test tubes after 20 minutes

Colour / Colour intensity of distilled water in distilled water test tubes after 20 minutes (%)
Trial to one decimal place
1 2 3 4 5 Mean S.D
Red 92.5 93.7 97.0 92.2 90.5 93.2 2.1
Green 69.3 74.4 74.0 65.5 62.2 69.1 4.7
Blue 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 0.0

Table 10: Legend for Bar Graphs (Tables 11 13)

Number Corresponding solution

1 alcohol solution
2 chloroform solution
3 sulphuric acid solution
4 distilled water
5 distilled water in alcohol solution test tubes
6 distilled water in chloroform solution test tubes
7 distilled water in sulphuric acid solution test tubes
8 distilled water in distilled water test tubes

Table 11: Bar Graph of Colour Intensity Results for Red

Colour Intensities for Red

100 96.9 93.2

73.4 75.4 76 76
61.8

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
Table 12: Bar Graph of Colour Intensity Results for Green

Colour Intensities for Green

100

69.1
63.1

0.3 0.2 0.3 0.3 0.3

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

Table 13: Bar Graph of Colour Intensity Results for Blue

Colour Intensities for Blue

100 100
88

0.1 0.7 0.2 0 0

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

From the graphs, it can be seen that

DISCUSSION:
Beetroot cells contain a water soluble red pigment called betacyanin in their vacuoles. If the tonoplast
or plasma membrane of the beet cells remains intact, betacyanin cannot pass through. If the cell surface
membrane and tonoplast is damaged, betacyanin will leak out and produce a red colour in the
surrounding water. The intensity of the red colour in the water could be used to assess the extent of the
damage done to the cell surface membrane by different factors. The amount of damage done by the
different pigments should be proportional to the intensity of the red colour pigment that is leaked.

In this experiment, beetroot discs have to be transferred to distilled water for another 20 minutes
before any measurement on the final solution can be made. This is so that any remaining red pigment
can dissolve out. For alcohol, this is because the red pigment is soluble in polar solvents. The solubility of
red pigment in the highly concentrated alcohol may not be high enough to dissolve all the red pigment.
As for chloroform, where theres little to no red pigment being detected, it can be accounted to the fact
that chloroform cannot destroy the tonoplast and plasma membrane, or due to the insolubility of the
red pigments in the chemicals used because the red pigment is soluble in polar solvents. In any case, for
all the chemicals, the transfer of the beetroot discs into distilled water can allow for any remaining red
pigment to dissolve out into the water.

Hence, it can be said that the water control in this investigation is to increase the accuracy of our
findings. Without the water control, if we simply used the colour intensity data, we

Why is a water control necessary in this investigation?

5. Explain and compare the effects of various chemicals on the membrane permeability.

6. What are the precautions that should be done during the experiment?

7. What are the limitations of this investigation?