KEY CONCEPTS
LAB 5 – Cellular Respiration
Some Key Review Concepts
Cellular respiration occurs in most cells of both plants and animals. It
takes place in the mitochondria, where energy from nutrients converts
ADP to ATP. ATP is used for all cellular activities that require energy.
The equation for cellular respiration is:
glucose + oxygen + ADP
carbon dioxide + water + ATP
Lab Design
Observe evidence for respiration in pea seeds and investigate the
effect of temperature on the rate of respiration. To do so, you can
measure (1) the amount of glucose consumed, (2) the amount of
oxygen consumed, (3) the amount of carbon dioxide produced.
In this lab we are going to measure the amount of oxygen consumed
by using a respirometer. By submerging the respirometer under water
we know that no air will enter the respirometer. The amount of water
that enters the respiromter is directly proportional to the amount of
oxygen used up by the organism in the respirometer.
Analysis of Results
After you have collected data for the amount of oxygen consumed over
time by germinating and nongerminating peas at two different
temperatures, you can compare the rates of respiration. Let's review
how to calculate rate.
Rate = slope of the line, or
In this case, y is the change in volume, and x is the change in time
(10 min).
You will find that germinating plants had a high respiratory rate, while
non-germinating plants had a low respiratory rate.