Our cell membranes are a wondrous system of fatty and liquids substances. This fluid structure contains each of our trillions of individual cells. In biology we took a look at cells abilities to keep the inside of the cell in by subjecting beet root cores to different temperatures causing the tissue to lose pigment to the fluid they are in. Anyone who has boiled beets has witnessed the extremes of this situation. As we pour off the purple water we are witnessing the extreme disruption of cell membranes.
The concentration of these purple pigments in solution gave students the chance to use a colorimeter to measure concentrations and to employ their thinking skills to define the relationship between temperature and cell membrane integrity.
Defining relationships mathematically is a hallmark of the natural sciences so I was glad to watch them using their graphing skills to create a visualization of the relationship.
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Here are some pictures of students working – gathering data and recording their measurements.