How Yeast Respiration is Affected by Water

Temperature

Anya Kureshi, Eshita Sangani

On my honor I have neither given nor received any unauthorized aid on my work, nor do I tolerate

academic dishonesty in others

Anya Kureshi, Eshita Sangani

Anya Kureshi, Eshita Sangani

Cantu

AP Bio: A1

18 October 2019

How Yeast Respiration is Affected by Water Temperature

Purpose:

The purpose of this lab is to understand how temperature affects the rate of cellular respiration in

yeast through its carbon dioxide (CO​2​) production.

Hypothesis:

The room temperature water will be the most optimal temperature for yeast cellular respiration

and will lead to a greater amount of CO​2​ production causing the balloon to inflate the most. This

is most likely because both cooler and hotter temperatures may denature the enzymes in yeast

causing its functions, in this case CO​2​ producing abilities, to be limited.

Materials:

- 3 glass test tubes

- 1 glass beaker

- 1 graduated cylinder

- 1 test tube rack

- Yeast

- 60 mL hot water
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- 10 mL cold water

- 10 mL room temperature water

- 1 stirring rod

- 1 plastic spoon

- Sucrose

- 1 Timer

Methodology:

Gather all materials. Add 1 teaspoon of yeast to 50 mL of warm water in a beaker to activate the

yeast. Stir the solution with a stirring rod until the yeast is dissolved. Place each test tube in the

test tube rack. Measure 10 mL of cold water with a graduated cylinder and pour it into test tube

#1. Repeat the previously stated step for test tubes #2 and #3 once. Label each test tube Cold,

Hot, and Room Temperature respectively. Add 10 mL of the yeast stock solution as well as 1

spoon of sucrose into all 3 tubes. Stir each test tube with the stirring stick to dissolve the sugar as

much as possible. Seal all test tubes with a balloon immediately. Record observations about the

balloon size and state of the solution after 10 minutes and 20 minutes in the data table. ​The

control in this lab was the room temperature water.

Data:

Mixture & Final Qualitative Observations after 10 Qualitative Observations after 20

Contents minutes minutes

Test Tube 1: (Yeast + ● Balloon is slightly inflated ● Balloon is a lot more inflated
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Sucrose + Cold Water) ● A clear line of separation than before

● Clusters of sugar at the ● Foam layer at the top of the

bottom test tube

● A clearer separation later

Test Tube 2: (Yeast + ● Clear inflation in balloon ● Bubbly foam at the top of the

Sucrose + Hot Water) ● Sugar clustered at the bottom test tube

● The 2 layers are separated ● No more layer separation

● No change inflated balloon

Test Tube 3: (Yeast + ● Balloon hasn’t changed ● A lot more foam (a 3rd layer

Sucrose + Room ● ~ 1 cm of Foam at the top is visible) ~2 cm

Temperature Water) layer ● More separation between layer

● Sugar clustered at the bottom ● A little inflation in the balloon

Results:

Immediately after the group placed the balloon over the three test tubes, there was no change in

the inflation of the balloon. Test tube 2 was the first to have a noticeable change in the inflation

of the balloon. The yeast and sucrose were clustered at the bottom in all of the test tubes after the

10 minute mark. In Test tube 1 and 2 after 10 minutes, the group was able to visibly see the line

between the sucrose & yeast layer and the water layer. However after 20 minutes, test tube 1 had

a clearer line of separation but in test tube 2, the solution had become almost homogenous. Test

tube 3 had about 1 cm of foam after 10 minutes and 2 cm of foam bubbles after 20 minutes. Test
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tubes 1 and 2 also had a foam layer after 20 minutes, but it was not as thick as the one in test tube

3. Test tube 2 had a slight inflation in balloon after 10 minutes and no change after 20 minutes.

Test tube 1 had a steady increase in the inflation of the balloon and was the biggest at the end of

the experiment. Test tube 3 had no change in the balloon after 10 minutes and had a slight

inflation after 20 minutes.

Analysis and Conclusion:

The hypothesis predicted that the yeast fermenting in room temperature water would be

the most optimal temperature resulting in a greater production of CO​2​ causing the balloon to be

more inflated. This was clearly proven incorrect by the data. After collection, it was found that

although each of the balloons increased their inflation after the second collection, the yeast

fermenting in cold water consistently had a greater increase in the amount of CO​2​ produced due

to fermentation in comparison to the other two. This is most likely due to the fact that the

enzymes in yeast were denatured in the hot water and that the room temperature water wasn’t

optimal enough for them to function at full capacity.

However, because the test tubes filled with water remained at the lab table for a short

period of time before the experiment began, it is possible that the temperature of the cold water

had warmed slightly and the hot water cooled slightly. This could’ve resulted in the water

temperature being more optimal for fermentation than it was at the start slightly skewing the

data. In addition, while the data was being collected the sugar in each of the test tubes had settled

to the bottom. However, the test tubes were frequently jostled as students around the experiment

jostled the table. This jostling may have caused the sugar to become incorporated unevenly in the
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test tubes with the solution increasing the yeast’s cellular respiration rate. Another possible error,

could’ve been the amount we stirred the contents in the test tube. More stirring may have

increased the yeast’s contact with the sugar causing an increase in the CO​2​ production rate.

This experiment relates to the “real world” because yeast fermentation is crucial to bread

making and bread is a common food item in most households. Bread relies on yeast’s production

of CO​2​ through fermentation to achieve the fluffy texture we are accustomed to. Depending on

the temperature of the water incorporated with the yeast, the bread may not rise completely or

may rise too much due to an excess of CO​2​ or a limited amount of CO​2​ each of these options

would result in insufficient bread that would not satisfy the customer. This dissatisfaction would

directly affect the bread sales as well as the bread company.

Conclusion Questions:

1. The yeast produced more carbon dioxide in the cold water. This may have been due to

the cold water becoming closer to the optimal temperature for CO​2​ production. The hot

water could have possibly been too hot and caused the enzymes in the yeast to denature,

halting any further CO​2​ production. The room temperature water most likely did not have

enough energy to increase the CO​2​ production. As time went on, the amount of CO​2​ in

the balloon’s test tube that had cold water increased as the particles within the yeast

gained kinetic energy and were able to collide more effectively, overcoming the

activation energy to produce CO​2​.

2. Yeast, a single celled organism, is an essential component in bread. The dough rises

when bread is baked because of the yeast in it. The yeast uses glycolysis and alcohol

fermentation to break down sugars in the dough. The yeast uses alcohol fermentation
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because it needs more N AD+ to continue glycolysis. The yeast releases alcohol and

carbon dioxide as a waste product. The carbon dioxide gas that is released causes the

bread to rise by incorporating the gas in between the flour.

Inquiry Write-Up:

Due to the fact that yeast contains enzymes that breakdown the sugar creating carbon dioxide in

the process, there are many environmental variables that may be changed. One specific variable

is pH. Changing the pH of the liquid that the stock solution is poured into (as opposed to the

temperature) by adding different acids and bases to it will help experimenters understand which

pH is the most optimal for yeast respiration. A solution that is too acidic or too basic may result

in the yeast enzymes denaturing. The process of denaturation will result in lesser production of

CO​2​ causing the balloon to be less inflated.