Potato food coloring experiment

Biology Cells The Effect of Cell Size on Material Transport Background Cells are so small that their existence went unnoticed until the microscope was invented. The microscope allows scientists to examine the cellular makeup of living organisms for the first time. A question that arises is: why are cells so small? Is there a factor that limits the size of a cell? In this lab, you will investigate the possibility that diffusion of nutrients into the cell may be a limiting factor on cell size. In this lab, you will work with raw potatoes, cut into cubes to mimic a working model of a cell. You will cut the potatoes into cubes of pre-determined size and then place the cubes in a dish containing a food-coloring solution. When the food coloring diffuses into the potato, it will produce a visible stain. After incubating all potato cubes that are simulating cells in a food-coloring solution for the same time period, you will slice open each of them to determine how far the food coloring diffused. By comparing the distance that the food-coloring diffuses into each size of cell that you make, you will be able to draw conclusions about whether the rate of material transport may be one of the limiting factors on cell size. Question How does cell size affect the rate of diffusion of materials into a cell? Materials            2 raw potatoes. knife metric ruler 250 ml beaker (or medium-sized glass/metal kitchen mixing bowl) 1 cup of water 1 teaspoon of food coloring (blue, red, or green) 2 teaspoons of lemon juice paper towels cutting board potato peeler tweezers © 2014 Connections Education LLC. All rights reserved. Safety Use caution when handling the knife to cut potato cubes. Alert both your teacher and Learning Coach if you accidentally cut yourself. Wash your hands thoroughly with soap and warm water before leaving the lab. Lab Tips  When handling food coloring, be aware that it will stain surfaces, clothing, and skin. Avoid using plastic containers while conducting this lab (disposable containers are okay). Wearing an old T-shirt and plastic gloves may help avoid any unwanted clothing and skin stains. Wash your hands and any kitchen and lab tools thoroughly with soap and warm water before leaving the lab.  Potatoes without their skins will brown after being left out in open air. Do not peel or cut the potato until you are ready to place the potato cubes into the solution. If a potato is left out for an extended period of time, carefully trim the potato so it has a fresh surface.  If you need to use more than one cup of water to submerge your potatoes, there should always be one teaspoon of food coloring and two teaspoons of lemon juice per cup of water. Example: Two cups of water will require two teaspoons of food coloring and four teaspoons of lemon juice. Pre-Lab Work 1. Design an Experiment: What is the independent variable in this experiment (i.e., the variable that you manipulate)? 2. Measure: How will you determine the size of your cells? 3. Control Variables: Why will you incubate all cells in the same food coloring solution for the same length of time? © 2014 Connections Education LLC. All rights reserved. Procedures 1. Prepare your food coloring solution. Add one cup of water, one teaspoon of food coloring, and two teaspoons of lemon juice to the 250-ml beaker.