Diffusion is the movement of molecules from a region of higher concentration to a region of lower concentration
The rate of diffusion is influenced by several factors:
Temperature
Surface area
Concentration gradient
Diffusion distance
You can investigate how temperature affects diffusion using beetroot
Beetroot cells contain a dark purple-red pigment
Heating above 45℃ can damage the cell membrane meaning that the pigment can leak out
The speed at which this pigment leaks out of the cell tells us about the rate of diffusion
Investigating the effect of temperature on diffusion
Apparatus
Beetroot
Knife
Cork borer (optional)
Cutting board
Ruler
Test tubes
Water baths
Stopwatch
Method
Using a knife, cut 2 equally-sized cubes of beetroot
The pieces must have the same dimensions so that they all have equal surface areas and volumes, as these factors could affect the rate at which the pigment leaks out
A cork borer can also be used, as long as the cores are cut to the same length
Rinse the beetroot pieces
To remove any pigment released during cutting
Put 5 cm3 of water into 2 test tubes labelled A and B
Keep test tube A at room temperature and transfer test tube B to a hot water bath at 90℃
Leave the test tubes for 2 minutes, then add a piece of beetroot into each test tube
After 10 minutes, observe the colour of the liquid in both test tubes
Results and Analysis
You should notice that at the higher temperature, more of the pigment has leaked out of the beetroot
This is because:
The cell membrane of the beetroot cells has become damaged so more pigment can leak out
At higher temperatures, particles have more kinetic energy, this results in the faster movement of particles compared to when they have less energy
Investigating the effect of temperature on diffusion in beetroot
Limitations
The beetroot pieces may not be identical in size and shape, meaning one test tube could contain slightly more beetroot tissue than the other
Solution: cut the beetroot as accurately as possible using a knife and ruler, and repeat each investigation several times to find a mean
Some parts of beetroot tissue could have more pigment in their cells than others
Solution: conduct several repeats, using different parts of the beetroot and find a mean
Our results would be more reliable if we tested a range of temperatures rather than just testing 2
Solution: Set up 5 test tubes in water baths at different temperatures (e.g. 10℃, 20℃, 30℃, 40℃, 50℃)
Observing the colour is a subjective measure which means it is difficult to really compare the differences in diffusion between the test tubes
Solution: use a colorimeter to measure how much light is absorbed as it passes through each of the five samples of coloured liquid
Applying CORMS to practical work
When working with practical investigations, remember to consider your CORMS evaluation
CORMS evaluation
In this investigation, your evaluation should look something like this:
C - We are changing the temperature of the environment
O - The beetroot cubes will all be taken from the same beetroot or beetroot of the same age
R - We will repeat the investigation several times to ensure our results are reliable
M1 - We will observe the colour change of the liquid
M2 - ...after 10 minutes
S - We will control the volume of water used, the dimensions of the beetroot cubes and each cube must be blotted before it is weighed each time