Core practical's

Effect of caffeine on daphnia heart

rate
Independent : caffeine concentration
Dependent : heart rate of daphnia
Controlled variables:
temperature,
volume of solutions,
stress of Daphnia,
size of Daphnia,

Method and outcome

Remove 1 daphnia and place in cavity slide
Remove pond water and replace with distilled water
Leave for 5 mins to acclimatise then observe and count heart rate under microscope for 30s
4. Multiply by 2 to calculate beats/mins
5. Repeat with 2 more daphnia. Repeat again but this time with a small concentration of caffeine in the distilled water.
6. Carry out for 5 concentrations of caffeine = 3 repeats at 3 concentrations.
1.
2.
3.

7.

OUTCOME: as caffeine
concentration increased heart rate

Possible evaluation issues

Ensuring daphnia were the same

size
If daphnia left too long underneath
microscope temperature
increases so heart rate
increases
Too high concentration of
caffeine kills daphnia
Counting heart beat can be
inaccurate

Measuring content if vitamin c in

fruit juice
Independent : fruit juice
Dependent: volume of juice required to

decolourise 1cm3 of DCPIP

Variables to control
Temperature
Concentration of DCPIP solution
Shake each tube same number of times
Same end point colour

Method and outcome

1. Pipette 1cm3 blue DCPIP into test tube
2. Add 1% vitamin c solution drop by
3.
4.
5.
6.

drop
Shake gently after each drop
Continue until DCPIP is colourless
Repeat further 2 times to get an average
Repeat with different fruit juices

Calculations: 1cm3 of 1% vitamin c solutions contains 10mg

vitamin c therefore mass in 1cm3 = 10mg x volume of 1%
vitamin c to decolourise 1cm3 of DCPIP
Mass in sample = mass of vitamin c to decolourise 1cm3 DCPIP /
volume of sample required to decolourise 1cm3 DCPIP

Possible evaluation issues

Difficulty in controlling temperature
Amount of shaking
End point difficult to judge
Some loss of solution when transferring

form one beaker to another

The effect of temperature on cell

membrane
Independent : temperature of water

Dependent: % transmission of light through

resulting solution
Variables to control
Volume of distilled water
Time left in water
Size of beetroot piece

Method + outcome
1. Cut pieces of beetroot into 1cm length cylinders
2. Place in distilled water overnight to remove any
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.

dye released in preparation

Wash blot and dry
Place 8 boiling tubes of distilled water into
water baths of different temperatures
Once at temp add beetroot leave for 30mins
Remove beetroot and shake tubes to disperse
dye
Set colorimeter to % absorbance
Place distilled water into cuvette first just for
testing then put first temp solution of beetroot
into cuvette, read absorbency and repeat for all

Outcome
100 - % absorbance = %transmission
As temperature increased % transmission

slightly increased to a point at which it

greatly increased due to membrane
molecules gaining more heat energy,
vibrating more to a point where the
vibrations caused large gaps in the
membrane enabling the release of dye
Also proteins in membrane denatured
leaving large pores

Possible evaluation issues

Some beetroot may have skin on affecting

surface area
Difficulty in maintaining temperature
Accurate reading of colorimeter
Accurate size of beetroot
Form different parts of the root
Ensuring same amount of time at the
different temperatures

The effect of changing enzyme

concentration on the rate of reaction
Independent: concentration of enzyme
Dependent : time taken for enzyme to

break down substrate

Variables to control
Temperature
Volume of enzyme
Volume of substrate
Concentration of subbstrate
ph

Method
1. Make up different concentrations of enzymes
2.
3.

4.
5.
6.
7.

using distilled water

Set up water bath for temp to keep constant
Place 1 test tube of 5cm3 casein solution into
water bath alongside second tube containing 2
cm3 of 0.2% trypsin
Allow to acclimatise for 3 mins so that at same
temperature
Add trypsin to casein, start the clock
Time how long it takes for casein solution to turn
transparent
Repeat a further 2 times then repeat for next
concentration

Outcome
Rate = 1/time
As concentration of enzyme increases, rate

of reaction increases until a plateau point

where all enzyme has metabolised all
substrate immediately.

Possible evaluation issues

Maintaining constant temperatures
Accurately making up the different

concentrations
Identifying end point consistently