Adapted by Ms Tan BC from Lyniece McKims Chemmistry of Lifes activities

Processes of Life: How Big Can a Cell Get?

Is there a constraint on the size a cell can get?
What causes this constraint?

Diffusion and osmosis are 2 life processes that take place in the living system. Could these be the
processes that determine the size of a living cell?

We will investigate the rate of diffusion of cells and the pH of some common liquids that we are
familiar with in our daily life.

APPARATUS & MATERIALS (per pair)
3 petri dishes (no cover)
3 droppers
3 test tubes & a test tube rack
2 white tiles
1 Penkinife
1 pair of Forceps
1 pair of scissor
1 Ruler
1 Stopwatch
1 Paper towel
labels
Cabbage juice (in a 50ml beaker)
An agar block made from cabbage juice (3cm x 3cm)


BENCH MATERIALS
Liquid soap solution
Lemon juice
7-up
100 plus
White Vinegar
Baking Powder solution

INTRODUCTION
Red cabbage juice changes to a variety of colour when mixed with different bases and acis. We will
use this property to study the rate of diffusion and at the same time estimate the relative pH of
different liquids that we commonly consume or use.

PROCEDURES
1. You will need to share data as a bench and finally as a class.
2. The pair of students sitting nearer to the central isle in the laboratory will be working with:
Liquid soap solution, Lemon juice and 7-up.
3. The other pair from the same bench will work on 100 plus, White Vinegar and Baking Powder
solution
4. Fold the paper towel into two to make it a 2-ply piece of paper. Cut it into 3 strips of about 30 x
20mm and briefly soak them in the cabbage juice.
5. Remove immediately once the paper turns light purple. Spread them open and leave aside to
dry on the white tile.
6. Cut your agar block to the following specifications:
a. 3 pieces of 5 x 5 x 5mm
b. 1 piece of 5 x 5 x 20mm
c. 1 piece of 10 x 10 x 10mm
Biology Foundation Module (2014)
Name : _________________ ( ) Class : ___ Date : ____





Precaution: Handle the knife
with care.
Adapted by Ms Tan BC from Lyniece McKims Chemmistry of Lifes activities
7. Label your petri dish accordingly based on the solutions that are assigned to you in step 2 and
3.
8. Immerse ONE piece of the 3 different sizes of agar in lemon juice or baking powder solution.
Record the time it takes for each of the agar to turn uniformly into a different colour in table 1
below.
9. Immerse the 2 other pieces of 5 x 5 x 5mm agar into each of the 2 remaining liquids. Observe
the colour change and record the results in table 2 below.
10. Introduce a few drops of each of your 3 solutions onto a different strip of the cabbage juice
soaked 2-ply paper towel.
11. Observe the colour change and record the results in table 2 below.
12. Transfer 2cm
3
of each of the solution into separate test tubes. Label the test tube accordingly.
13. Add an equal volume of cabbage juice to each of these test tubes and record the colour
change in table 2. (2cm
3
is aprroximately 2cm in height)


DATA ANALYSIS
In your journal, record and organize your observations in a form of 2 tables as shown below. Work out
the surface area and volume accordingly.

Paper towel/
Agar block
5 x 5 x 5mm 5 x 5 x 20mm 10 x 10 x 10mm
Surface area (cm
2
)



Volume (cm
3
)



Surface area : Volume ratio



Time for agar block to change
colour completely (min)


Table 1: Rate of Diffusion in Different Sizes of Agar




Materials Colour Change Solution A Solution B Solution C
Agar Initial colour
Final colour
Paper towel Initial colour
Final colour
Liquid Initial colour
Final colour

Table 2: Colour Change of Cabbage Juice in Different Medium






Adapted by Ms Tan BC from Lyniece McKims Chemmistry of Lifes activities
DISCUSSION

Processes of Life
1. From the data, what can you conclude about the relationship between surface area: volume ratio
and the rate of diffusion of the liquid?








2. What is the size of the largest single cell organism? Explain why is there a cap on the maximum
size of a living cell?






3. How does the concept of surface area to volume ratio be applied to the multicellular organism and
the specialisation of cells?
Name some examples in our body that support your reasoning.






Extension:
Combine the results from table 1 as a class to obtain the average time taken for the various agar blocks to
change colour completely.


Chemistry of Life
Look at the colour of the agar in all the 6 petri dishes in your bench.
Arrange them in the order from most acidic to most basic.

Your teacher will show you the pH of each of the liquid by using a commercial indicator.

What do you think is the indication for each colour change?
Gel, paper and juice are different indicators that are used. What would be the pH if there is no
colour change in the indicators used?
Did the pH colour change for all 3 different mediums (gel, paper and juice) the same? How are
they different?
How many acids or bases are there?
On a pH scale, which numbers indicate bases and which acids?
Can you think of examples of different pH envrionment in our body?


The higher the surface area to volume ratio, the higher the rate of diffusion in a liquid.
Xenophyophores are the largest single celled organism, with a cell diameter of 20 centimeters. The cell
will not be able to sustain all its components and thus it needs other specialized cell types to help with the
division of labour.
Cell volume increases more rapidly than its surface area.
Therefore, the surface area available for the movement of
materials per a unit volume of the cell decreases.
This slower increase in surface area as the volume increases,
limits the size of a cell.
Materials will not be able to cross the membrane fast
enough
to accommodate the increased cellular volume.
RESULT: Cell divides into smaller cells, OR
cell ceases to function.