Lab Report 1

In this lab report we will be conducting an experiment to test for cellular respiration in germination. When germination occurs cellular respiration provides plants with the ATP needed to produce all the molecules that they require to grow. So in the experiment that follows serves for the purpose of measuring the amount of oxygen uptake and use that as proof that germinating soy beans are in fact carrying on cellular respiration. My hypothesis of course being that soybeans do in fact carry cellular respiration out but not non-germinating soybean seeds.
For this experiment I will be utilizing a volumeter with three respirometers, which is used to measure change in gas volumes. I’ll start off by removing the three vials from the volumeter and labeling them as A, B and C.
We’ll then place absorbent cotton at the bottom of each vial and wet the cotton with 15% potassium hydroxide (KOH) without wetting the sides of the vials. The KOH will absorb CO2 produced by the soybean seeds. After this place dry cotton on top of the wet cotton. Next we are to count twenty-five soybeans and add them to vial A. In vial B we will place twenty five non-germinating soybean seeds and add glass beads until the amount of volume occupied is roughly the same as in vial A. We will add glass beans to vial C and bring it up to about the same volume as in vials A and B. Finally I’ll replace the vials into the volumeter and place two-hole stoppers in each. Each of the stoppers has a vent and this vent is clamped shut. I removed the clamps and adjusted the side arm so that about 5mm-1cm has gone through the stopper. Now using a Pasteur pipe to insert Brodie manometer fluid, which is simply water colored with vegetable dye and a small amount of detergent, into each side arm until there is