Investigation of factors affecting membrane permeability

Question 1

Design an experiment to measure the effect of temperature on membrane permeability

Answer 1

• Cut five small pieces of beetroot of equal size using a cork borer
• Thoroughly wash the beetroot in running water and then place it in a test tube with distilled water, place the test tube in a water bath with distilled water
• Use temperatures at 10c intervals for each of the beetroot samples
• Take samples of the beetroot every 5 minutes after each temperature was reached
• Check the absorbance of each sample against a colorimeter using the correct coloured filter
• Repeat the experiment three times with fresh beetroot each time - record your results in a table and a graph

Question 2

Apart from temperature what else can affect membrane permeability?

Answer 2

Organic solvents such as alcohol