Bio Lab Report Beetroot

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Aim: To find out the effect of the temperature on the permeability of the cell membrane. Research Question: Effect of temperature on amount of pigment Background: Cell membranes contain many different types of molecules/substances that help maintain the overall structure, fluidity and functioning of the membrane. It is mainly consisted of a phospholipid bilayer, with a hydrophilic phosphate head and a hydrophobic lipid tail. The phospholipid bilayer is effective in stopping molecules from exiting or entering the call. Since the membrane has a non-polar layer in its centre and two polar layers on either side, it is difficult for both polar and non-polar molecules to pass through both layers. The bilayer also contains proteins (almost 70%), namely integral and peripheral ones. The main function of the integral proteins is to facilitate the exchange of materials within the cell – one of which is diffusion, which is defined as the movement of substances from a region of higher concentration to a region of lower concentration. The purpose of this experiment is to find out the effect of varying temperature on the permeability of the cell membrane which is to be tested using a beetroot core immersed in water of different temperature and then, using spectrophotometry, finding the absorbance and transmittance percentage of the pigment that is left over. The red pigment present in beetroot (that was mentioned above) is Betalain, a water-soluble (thus making the pigment is suitable for diffusion into an aqueous environment) glycoside with some or all of the sugar groups removed. They can be divided into betacyanins and betaxanthins based upon their molecular structure. The betacyanin pigment of beetroot is normally stored in the vacuole of the beet root

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