Daphnia Experiment Research Paper
An Investigation To See The Effect That Alcohol Has Upon The Heart Rate Of Daphnia.
Aim:
In this investigation I am going to see how alcohol affects the heart. Due to the ethical and safety issues involved in using in an investigation such as this I am going to use Daphnia (water flea) to conduct this experiment. Although humans and Daphnia are very different organisms, the affect that alcohol has upon the heart should be similar.
Hypothesis: The hypothesis I am going to test during the investigation is:
‘Increasing the percentage of concentration of alcohol (a depressant) solution, into which a Daphnia is immersed, will significantly cause its heart rate to decrease.’
Background Knowledge: One of the most common crustaceans …show more content…
It must also filter large amounts of water to strain these particles, and it does this by rhythmically beating its legs, pumping water through the space under its carapace, and using the bristles on its legs as strainers. Because algae are the daphnia’s main food source, it is clearly and advantage for the daphnia to stay where the algae are most densely populated. This is done by sight, but not by spotting the algae at a distance and heading for it. If the daphnia stumbles across a group of algae, the light seen by the daphnia will be slightly red, as most of the blue light in sunlight is removed as it passes through the cloud of algae. The slight redness of the light will cause the daphnia to remain in the location of the algae. The daphnia is in turn eaten by other, larger organisms, making it an important link in the aquatic food …show more content…
25 ml flask – Used to put the 10 ml of the concentration into as well as the Daphnia so it could be observed and exposed to the concentration.
5. Ethanol – I used this to make up my alcohol concentrations, as it was the easiest and most common chemical used.
6. Distilled Water – used as the main thing in the concentrations and also used to put the Daphnia in after they were subjected to the alcohol concentration to try and bring their heart rate back to normal. It is used as the control as it is pure and free from chemicals that could affect the Daphnia’s heart rate, thus making the test fairer.
7. Microscope – Used to observe the heart rate of the Daphnia, under a low power.
8. Cavity Slide – Used to put the Daphnia onto so it could be observed. Due to the cavity on it, it meant it was easier to use than a normal slide as some of the concentration was put onto it also.
9. Cavity Tile – Used to put the Daphnia into after it had been in the concentration of alcohol. The cavities were full of distilled water.
10. Safety Mat – This was used to protect the bench from any spillages of ethanol as other people have to use the bench and ethanol is a dangerous chemical.
11. Safety Goggles – These were used to protect my eyes from the vapour from the ethanol as it can lead to
Aim:
In this investigation I am going to see how alcohol affects the heart. Due to the ethical and safety issues involved in using in an investigation such as this I am going to use Daphnia (water flea) to conduct this experiment. Although humans and Daphnia are very different organisms, the affect that alcohol has upon the heart should be similar.
Hypothesis: The hypothesis I am going to test during the investigation is:
‘Increasing the percentage of concentration of alcohol (a depressant) solution, into which a Daphnia is immersed, will significantly cause its heart rate to decrease.’
Background Knowledge: One of the most common crustaceans …show more content…
It must also filter large amounts of water to strain these particles, and it does this by rhythmically beating its legs, pumping water through the space under its carapace, and using the bristles on its legs as strainers. Because algae are the daphnia’s main food source, it is clearly and advantage for the daphnia to stay where the algae are most densely populated. This is done by sight, but not by spotting the algae at a distance and heading for it. If the daphnia stumbles across a group of algae, the light seen by the daphnia will be slightly red, as most of the blue light in sunlight is removed as it passes through the cloud of algae. The slight redness of the light will cause the daphnia to remain in the location of the algae. The daphnia is in turn eaten by other, larger organisms, making it an important link in the aquatic food …show more content…
25 ml flask – Used to put the 10 ml of the concentration into as well as the Daphnia so it could be observed and exposed to the concentration.
5. Ethanol – I used this to make up my alcohol concentrations, as it was the easiest and most common chemical used.
6. Distilled Water – used as the main thing in the concentrations and also used to put the Daphnia in after they were subjected to the alcohol concentration to try and bring their heart rate back to normal. It is used as the control as it is pure and free from chemicals that could affect the Daphnia’s heart rate, thus making the test fairer.
7. Microscope – Used to observe the heart rate of the Daphnia, under a low power.
8. Cavity Slide – Used to put the Daphnia onto so it could be observed. Due to the cavity on it, it meant it was easier to use than a normal slide as some of the concentration was put onto it also.
9. Cavity Tile – Used to put the Daphnia into after it had been in the concentration of alcohol. The cavities were full of distilled water.
10. Safety Mat – This was used to protect the bench from any spillages of ethanol as other people have to use the bench and ethanol is a dangerous chemical.
11. Safety Goggles – These were used to protect my eyes from the vapour from the ethanol as it can lead to