Name:
Biology
Date:
Temperature and Respiration Rate
Introduction:
A recent experiment by biology students measured the rate of aerobic cellular respiration by measuring the
volume of O2 consumed using a respirometer. The focus was to investigate the effect of temperature on the rate of
respiration. A respirometer is a device used to measure the rate of respiration of living organisms by measuring its
rate of exchange of oxygen and carbon dioxide. The tube contains a substance such as soda lime pellets, or cotton
wads soaked with potassium hydroxide to absorb the carbon dioxide that is released. When the organism takes in
oxygen it gives off an equal volume of carbon dioxide which is immediately absorbed. The liquid in the pipette will
move when the volume of the gas changes in the test tube. The rate of change gives a direct and reasonably
accurate reading for the organism's rate of respiration. Gas volume is related to the temperature of the gas. A
change in temperature will cause a direct change in volume.
Part 1: Rate of Respiration:
1. Write the balanced equation for cellular respiration.
2. The equation for rate of respiration
rate =  in volume /  in time.
Using the diagrams of respirometer below calculate the rate of respiration.
Using the graph below to answer questions 3-5.
3. Describe the relationship between temperature and
consumption of oxygen.
4. Calculate the rate of oxygen consumption for
germinating corn at 12 o C
Part 2 - Graphing Respiration Data:
A cricket was placed in a respirometer and data was taken at three temperatures. The following table shows the
data collected.
Table 1: Respiration rate of crickets at various temperatures.
Respiration Rate (mL of O2)
Time (min)
10 O C
18 O C
25 O C
0
0.0
0.0
0.0
5
0.25
0.6
0.9
10
0.5
0.9
1.4
15
0.7
1.2
1.8
20
0.9
1.6
2.4
1. Graph time as a function of mL O2 on one line graph using provided graph paper. All essential components
of a graph (title, properly scaled and labeled axes, point protectors and a key) should be included.
2. Determine the rate of respiration for each of the three temperatures. Show your work.
3. Refer to the data to draw a conclusion about the influence of temperature on respiration rate of crickets.
Refer to your knowledge of chemical reactions to offer an explanation for the trend observed.