The Effects Of Temperature On Beet Cells

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The Effects of Temperature on Beet Cell Membranes Introduction: The function of a cell membrane is to protect the cell and act as a barrier between the cells cytoplasm and its surrounding environment, and also to monitor the substances that move in and out of the cell using selective permeability. The cell membrane is primarily made up of phospholipids and proteins that form a bilayer. The membrane protects the structures inside the cell including the vacuoles that contain betacyanin, the reddish pigment in the roots of the beet plant. The vacuoles are surrounded by a membrane called the tonoplast. Betacyanin will leak from the vacuoles and pass through if there is damage to the membranes. As the cells are exposed to various environmental conditions, what will happen to the cell membranes? My hypothesis is that the experiment will show that when the beet is exposed to the following temperatures, the value of the color intensity will be: At -5°C the color intensity will have a value of 8. At 5°C the color intensity will have a value of 7. At 22°C the color intensity will have a value of 5. At 40°C the color intensity will have a value of 6. At 55°C the color intensity will have a value of 7. At 70 °C the color intensity will have a value of 8. Method: Preparation for this experiment required gathering all the needed materials and designing an experiment isolating one variable to determine the effects of temperature on the beet cell membrane. The materials needed for the experiment are: * fresh beets at room temperature * beaker of tap water at room temperature * heating device * fridge and freezer * knife * six test tubes * mm ruler * thermometer * beaker * forceps * Dissecting needle * timer Using a sharp knife, I cut the beet into six (7mm x 7mm x 15 mm) pieces as accurately in measurement

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