Materials:
2 water baths
2 rulers
2 thermometers
½ mL of germinated seeds (in each syringe)
2 syringes
½ mL non-absorbent cotton (in each syringe)
½ mL absorbent cotton (in each syringe)
KaOH (3 drops in each)
2 capillaries tubes
4 washers (2 in each syringe)
Tape
Ice
Soap-nanometer fluid (one drop in each syringe).
Steps:
For each respirometer
1. Glue the capillary to the syringe making sure there are no leaks and that it is not clot 2. Put 1/2mL of absorbent cotton inside the syringe
3. Put about 3 drops of KaOH in the cotton using another syringe without touching the walls of the respirometer 4. Put ½ mL of non-absorbent cotton
5. Put ½ mL of germinated seeds. Push the plunger into 1mL For water bath
1. Attach a ruler to the bottom of the water bath using tape 2. Fill with water
3. Put ice on one of the water baths until it reaches 10 Co. Measure the temperature with the thermometer 4. Place a piece of tape horizontally in each water tube.
5. Put 2 washers on each respirometer. Submerge the respirometer making sure the body is completely covered with water while the tip is resting on the piece of tape. Wait for 5 minutes 6. Put a drop of nanometer fluid (soap) on the capillary tube using a syringe with a needle 7. Submerge
the whole microrespirometer in each water bath 8. Every 5 minutes, for a total of 25 minutes, record how much the nanometer fluid has moved by using a magnifying glass, in reference to the ruler attached at the bottom of the water bath. 9. Make sure the temperature is kept the same.
Variables
Manipulated variable| Responding variable| Control| Constant| Temperature (10 Co)| Rate of respiration (measured by the difference between initial value and final value in the ruler)| 19 Co water| Germinating seed (0.5mL) 0.5mL absorbent cotton 0.5mL non-absorbent cotton 3 drops KaOH (in each syringe) KaOH concentration (15%) Time (5 minutes) Total time (25 minutes) 5 minutes of equilibration amount of nanometer fluid (2 drops)|.