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Investigating Cellular Respiration in Germinating Peas

Belle Yin

Tianyi AP Department

Amber Zeng

March 16, 2025

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Introduction & Background

The purpose of the experiment is to measure respiration rates of
dormant and germinating seeds. This experiment will help us understand
how living organisms, such as plants, utilize energy through cellular
respiration and how germination affects this process. This
experiment will help us understand how living organisms, such as plants,
utilize energy through cellular respiration and how germination affects this
process.
Photosynthesis generates oxygen, as well as organic molecules used
by the mitochondria of eukaryotes as fuel for cellular respiration.
Respiration breaks this fuel down, using oxygen (O2) and generating ATP.
The waste products of this type of respiration, carbon dioxide (CO2) and
water (H2O), are the raw materials for photosynthesis ( 237).
C6H12O6 + 6 O2 S 6 CO2 + 6 H2O + Energy (ATP + heat)
By using a respirometer, we will measure the oxygen consumption of
the seeds, which is an indicator of cellular respiration. We use glass beads
to balance the volume of the stuff in all three respirometer apparatuses to
assure that they have the same internal pressure. NaOH solution is used to
eliminate the carbon dioxide that the peas produce to avoid the change in
the volume of O2 from being error. Absorbent cotton balls are used to
absorb NaOH solution. Plastic wrap is used to separate peas from NaOH to
protect peas.
The hypothesis is that if germinating peas undergo cellular
respiration at a higher rate than dormant peas, then the germinating peas
will consume more oxygen than dormant peas over time, as measured by
the respirometer.

Method & Procedure

Materials:
Germinating peas
Nongerminating peas
Glass beads
Respirometer apparatus
Sodium hydroxide (NaOH) solution
Absorbent cotton balls
Plastic wrap
Graduated cylinder (10 mL and 100 mL)
Forceps
Marker pen
Disposable pipet

Variable identified:
Time is the independent variable and O 2 consumed is the dependent
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variable.

Procedure:
1. Make absorbent cotton balls: piece the cotton to make ~ 30 small balls.
2. Get 3 respirometer apparatuses. These will be glass flasks with a
stopper made by plasticine with a long, thin, 1 mL pipet inserted into the
stopper. Place a small piece of ~ 7-8 “absorbent cotton balls” in the
bottom of each one. Mark each respirometer “1”, “2”, “3”.
3. Using a dropper, place 2-3 mL of NaOH solution on the cotton ball inside
the glass flask, taking care not to get any of the solution on the sides of
the flask.
4. Place plastic wrap on top of the absorbent cotton. This will protect the
pea seeds from the NaOH solution. You may need to use forceps and the
glass rod to push the cotton down into the flask. Make sure they totally
cover the NaOH part.
5. To set up each of the respirometers, do the following:
a. Respirometer 1: Place 20 germinating peas into the respirometer on top
of the plastic wrap. Because the volume of the respirometer’s contents
must be kept constant, you must determine what the volume of 20
germinating peas is. To do this, fill a 100 mL graduated cylinder with 20
mL of water. Then place 20 germinating peas inside and determine their
volume by seeing how much water they displace. You will need to record
this volume using a marker pen, since you will need to replicate it using
dried peas and beads for the other 2 respirometer set ups.
b. Respirometer 2: Must have a volume of 20 dried (nongerminating) peas
plus beads equal to the volume of the germinating peas in group 1. Fill a
graduated cylinder with 20 mL of water and add 20 dried peas plus
however many beads it takes to make the volume equal to that of the
germinating peas.
c. Respirometer 3: Must have a volume of beads only equal to that of the
germinating peas in group 1. Fill a graduated cylinder with 20 mL of water
and add however many beads it takes to make the volume equal to that of
the germinating peas.

Data & Observations

Beads Alone Germinating Peas in Dry Peas and Beads

Room Temp

Gro 3 1 2
up
No.
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Tim Read Differ Read Differ Correc Read Differ Correc

e ing ence ing ence ted ing ence ted
at at Differ at Differ
Time Time ence Time ence
X X X

0 9 9 9

3 9 0 8.94 0.06 0.06 8.98 0.02 0.02

6 9 0 8.88 0.12 0.12 8.97 0.03 0.03

9 9 0 8.82 0.18 0.18 8.94 0.06 0.06

12 9 0 8.75 0.25 0.25 8.93 0.07 0.07

15 9 0 8.70 0.30 0.30 8.90 0.10 0.10

18 9 0 8.63 0.37 0.37 8.89 0.11 0.11

21 9 0 8.58 0.42 0.42 8.85 0.15 0.15

24 9 0 8.53 0.47 0.47 8.84 0.16 0.16

27 9 0 8.46 0.54 0.54 8.82 0.18 0.18

30 9 0 8.41 0.59 0.59 8.80 0.20 0.20

Analysis of Results
O2 consumed by germinating peas and nongerminating peas overtime
0.7

0.6

0.5
O2 consumed

Beads Alone
0.4 Linear (Beads Alone)
Germinating Peas in Room
0.3 Temp
Linear (Germinating Peas in
0.2 Room Temp)
Dry Peas and Beads
0.1 Linear (Dry Peas and Beads)

0
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35
Time(minute)
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According to the data from the experiment, the rate of the O2

consumed for beads alone is 0. The rate of the O 2 consumed for
germinating peas is 0.020. The rate of the O 2 consumed for dry peas is
0.007. Therefore, the germinating peas undergo cellular respiration at a
higher rate than the dry peas.
There may be some sources of error. First, temperature fluctuations
during the experiment could have affected the rate of respiration by
changing the pressure in the apparatuses. Then, inaccurate
measurements of the dye drop position could have introduced errors in the
data. In addition, the respirometers may not have been perfectly sealed,
leading to gas leaks.
To address these problems, we can place the experiment in a
temperature-controlled environment to reduce the fluctuation in
temperature, keep eyes flush with the lower end of the concave surface to
ensure accurate measurements, and use clay to Ensure that the
respirometers are tightly sealed to prevent gas leaks.

Conclusion
Germinating peas consumed more oxygen than nongerminating peas, indicating a
higher rate of cellular respiration. The control respirometer (beads only) showed no
significant change in volume, confirming that the volume changes in the other respirometers
were due to oxygen consumption. The results support the hypothesis that germinating peas
undergo cellular respiration at a higher rate than dormant peas due to their increased
metabolic activity during germination.

Citation
Lab #1: Investigating Cellular Respiration in Germinating Peas (College Board, 2019)
AP® Biology Lab Manual for Students (2023). New Jersey: College Board. p.T105-T117.
Campbell, N. A., Urry, L. A., Cain, M. L., Wasserman, S. A., Minorsky, P. V., & Orr, R. B.
(2025). Biology: A global approach (12th ed.). Pearson.