Cell Membranes and Transport

Introduction: Beetroot cells contain a red pigment, called betalains, which is stored in the vacuole of the plant cells. This is to prevent the pigment leaking out of the cell. [3] The outer layer of the cell is also surrounded by a membrane, this also helps the pigment stay inside the cell. Normally the pigments cannot pass through the membranes but they leak out when the beetroot is cooked. [1] The aim of this experiment was to use beetroot to examine the effect of temperature on cell membranes and relate the effects observed to membrane structure. To function correctly, a cell needs to be able to control transport across the partially permeable cell membrane. [2] A membrane is important in cells …show more content…

Results:
|Temperature (˚C) |Absorption (A) |
|0 |0.567 |
|10 |0.136 |
|20 |0.141 |
|31 |0.188 |
|40 |0.348 |
|50 |1.559 |
|60 |3.662 |
|70 |3.610 |

Graph:
See attached graph paper.

Analysis of Results: The graph showed a general trend of when temperature increased, the amount of red pigment leaked from the beetroot increases too. The results increased steadily up until about 40°C then rose up very steeply up to 60°C. This is the point where most proteins in the cells are being denatured, making gaps and the sudden rush of red pigment to leak through the holes. After that point, the graph starts to fall. This is because some of the denatured proteins block the holes that were made when the proteins started to denature.

Conclusion: My results clearly show that my