The Rate of Respiration Conducted by Seeds in

Different Stages of Germination and at Different Temperatures

Performed by Kalvin Foo

Lab Partners: Taylor Enoch, Jisoo Han, and Joey Dong

Submitted to Mrs. Fitzgerald

AP Biology, Period 6

December 10, 2008

Problem: To determine the rate of the respiration of germinating and non-germinating seeds at

favorable and unfavorable temperatures by quantitatively observing the consumption of O2.

Background: This experiment is based off of the idea that all living organisms undergo cellular

respiration, including plants. Thus, respiration can be represented by the following chemical

equation

C6H12O6 + 6O2 → 6CO2 + 6H2O + energy

where the organism uses stored sugar alongside absorbed oxygen to produce energy. However,

the respiration directly ties in to the organism’s ongoing metabolic functions, as a germinating

seed will need greater energy than a non-germinating due to the growth the germinating seed is

undergoing while the non-germinating is dormant. The difference between the two is the

conditions the peas are exposed to. In the presence of oxygen, water, temperature, and light, the

peas that were previously in a state of dormancy, begin to grow, which adds much metabolic

processing and a greater need for energy. The pea plant germinates in a dicot fashion,

hypogeously. Both forms perform cellular respiration, a baseline metabolic function to produce

energy, but in varying quantities as explained above. Cellular respiration, as performed by the

pea plants, is a process in which sugar is broken down oxidatively and converted into ATP,

through glycolysis, the citric acid cycle, and then processing of energy through the electron

transport chain. Theoretically, this process yields about 36-38 molecules of ATP as energy

storage instead of having an explosive release of energy, putting it in a usable form for the

organism.

In the lab setup used, the most viable part of the equation to measure would be the oxygen

consumption because it would be the easiest to measure using a respirometer that removed
gaseous carbon dioxide via precipitation (using KOH, K2CO3 is a solid created when carbon

dioxide and potassium hydroxide are combined). So, by quantitatively measuring how much O2

is consumed by a pea plant, the value can be inserted into the equation

PV=nRT

where P is Pressure, V is volume, n is the number of moles of gas, R is the Gas Constant (.08206

atm L/ mol K) and T is Temperature in Kelvin. This formula is applicable as per Avagadro’s law,

which determines that at constant temperature and pressure, 1 mole of gas is the same volume as

1 mole of gas of another type. As the goal of the lab is to measure the rate in terms of mL/min,

the pea’s use of oxygen pulls dye into the pipet and shows the change in volume. This change,

divided by the time span of 5 minutes, provides the rate of oxygen consumption.

Data and Observations

Respirometer (submerged in water bath)

Respiration of Peas at Room Temperature
Set 1: Set 2: Set 3:
Germinating Peas Non-Germinating Peas and Glass Beads
Glass Beads
Temp Time Volume of ΔV Corrected Volume ΔV Corrected Volume ΔV
(°C) (m) Pipet(mL) (mL) ΔV (mL) of Pipet (mL) ΔV (mL) of Pipet (mL)
23 0 0.2 - - 0.09 - - 0.09 -
23 5 0.39 0.19 0.15 0.14 0.05 0.01 0.13 0.04
23 10 0.43 0.23 0.17 0.16 0.07 0.01 0.15 0.06
23 15 0.52 0.32 0.25 0.17 0.08 0.01 0.16 0.07
23 20 0.59 0.39 0.32 0.18 0.09 0.02 0.16 0.07

Respiration of Peas at a Colder Temperature (class data)

Set 1: Set 2: Set 3:
Germinating Peas Non-Germinating Peas and Glass Beads
Glass Beads
Temp Time Volume of ΔV Corrected Volume ΔV Corrected Volume ΔV
(°C) (m) Pipet(mL) (mL) ΔV(mL) of Pipet (mL) ΔV (mL) of Pipet (mL)
10 0 0.15 - - 0.15 - - 0.15 -
10 5 0.08 0.01 0.05
10 10 0.07 0.06 0.13
10 15 0.14 0.02 0.13
10 20 0.20 0.01 0.10

Rate of Respiration

0.35

0.3

0.25

0.2
GP
NGP Cold
0.15
NGP
GB Cold
0.1
GB
GP Cold
0.05

0
5 10 15 20

-0.05

-0.1
Time (minutes)
Calculations

Average rate of respiration in mL/min= Σ (∆Volume/time elapsed) / total entries

Germinating Peas (.15/5+. 17/5+ .25/5+. 32/5)/4 .0445 mL/min

Non-Germinating Peas (.01/5+ .01/5+ .01/5+ .02/5)/4 .0025 mL/min
Germinating Peas 10° (.08/5+ .07/5+ .14/5+ .20/5)/4 .0245 mL/min
Non-Germinating Peas 10° (.01/5+ -.06/5+ -.02/5+ .01/5)/4 -.003mL/min

Results and Discussion

Though the main purpose of the graph is to approximate the rate at which oxygen is

consumed by respiration, this graph has errors that wrongfully contradict this. First of all, all of

the values are corrected by subtracting the changes in volume found in the negative control

respirometers with only glass beads from the changes in volume in the other respirometers to

account for unpredicted environmental variables. This system is to adjust the values, but the class

data for the 10° tests exhibited negative respiration in the non-germinating pea respirometer. So,

possible sources of error that can be attributed to are either a fault in the control tube in 10° setup

or in the non-germinating pea tube, each which could have been caused by water leaking into the

tubes, skewing the data. However, for the data collected by Group 3 recording the rates at 23°,

the results did follow expectations as the germinating peas exhibited a greater rate of respiration

because of its more numberous metabolic processes than the non-germinating seeds.

The data, for the most part, did show the intended effect, that respiration is always

happening, but conditions dictate the rate. The most optimal conditions for growth will induce a

greater rate of respiration because of the more energy required by growth as opposed to a pea

that is not introduced to water and exposed to cold temperature, which will further slow down

metabolic processes to save energy. But the negative value shown is inaccurate, and probably

could have been remedied with a more meticulous setup.

Analysis

The peas, all originally non-germinating and dormant, were introduced to different situations

in order to measure the rate of respiration as per differing conditions. So, a batch was introduced

to water, the final necessity for germination in order to emerge from dormancy. Thus, having

both germinating and non-germinating peas, the rate of respiration was tested in room

temperature and colder conditions. As germination, or sprouting, occurs, the pea plant consumes

more energy as it undergoes growth, so a greater amount of respiration (and photosynthesis) is

required to fulfill the energy needs. Though the process of respiration only creates 36-38 ATP

molecules per molecule of glucose, if the rate increases so does ATP production. So, in a more

favorable condition for germination with the requirements (light, water, air, and the right

temperature) respiration rates increase.

The process of cellular respiration remains the same throughout, even if the rates vary.

Though the process can be simplified into the formula

C6H12O6 + 6O2 → 6CO2 + 6H2O + energy

there are multiple steps for this to occur in order to maximize energy production in a useful

manner, for a singular release of energy would be explosive and useless to an organism. So, as a

pea plant undergoes respiration, the first step is glycolysis in which sugar is oxidized to form

energy, refill energy-carrier molecules, and pyruvate.

Glucose + 2 NAD+ + 2 Pi + 2 ADP → 2 pyruvate + 2 NADH + 2 ATP +2H+ + 2 H2O

The next step is the citric acid cycle, which occurs in the presence of oxygen. The main

purpose of this is converting the acetyl-CoA formed from pyruvate through oxidation and

enzyme usage. Finally, the products are transferred through the electron transport chain where

oxidative phosphorylation occurs and ATP synthase produces a great amount of ATP.
 In the case of the respiration lab, this process is performed by pea plants in relation to their

metabolic situations. The lab setup was geared towards creating an environment where

respiration could be quantitatively measured. So, in order to measure air, the setup included a

cotton ball dabbed with KOH, which would precipitate out one of respiration’s waste products-

CO2. The effect is a vacuum of sorts due to the usage of oxygen, where water is drawn into the

submerged respirometer, and the presence of a dye helps observation. Also, a negative control

was set up in both room temperature and 10° scenarios, in order to account for other

environmental factors that could alter the change in volume sucked into the pipet. As a final

result, the difference between germinating and non-germinating peas followed expectations, as

germinating peas at room temperature consumed oxygen at a rate of .0445 mL/min and the non-

germinating consuming oxygen at a slower rate of .0025 mL/min, and a similar, slower result in

the cooled environment.

Works Cited

"Important Metabolic Products." Occidental College. 2 Oct 2008 < http://www.oxy.edu/ >.

Kusinitz, Marc. "Cellular respiration." Gale Encyclopedia of Science. K. Lee Lerner and Brenda

Wilmoth Lerner. 4th ed. Detroit: Gale Group, 2008. Discovering Collection. Gale. Parsippany

Hills High School. 30 Dec. 2008 <http://find.galegroup.com/>.

Raven, Peter H.; Ray F. Evert, Susan E. Eichhorn (2005). Biology of Plants, 7th Edition. New

York: W.H. Freeman and Company Publishers. pp. 504–508

"Respiration." UXL Encyclopedia of Science. Rob Nagel. 2nd ed.

Online. ed. Detroit: U*X*L, 2007. Discovering Collection. Gale. Parsippany Hills High

School. 30 Dec. 2008 <http://find.galegroup.com/>.