Cellular Respiration Lab Report I. The ATP Cycle
1. What is the main source of energy for plants and animals?
2. Describe the structure and function of ATP.
3. Define the following:
anaerobic respiration
aerobic respiration
II. Anaerobic Respiration
Go to Lab, Section II, Exercise 1 to view alcoholic fermentation. At intervals of 20, 40, and 60 minutes, record the volume of gas produced in each fermentation tube. Each tube is graduated in tenths of a milliliter. Hint: look at the amount of gas reading from the top, not the level of the liquid.
Tube Solution Gas Volume (ml)
20 min. 40 min. 60 min.
1 10% glucose + yeast
2 1% starch + yeast
3 1% starch + yeast + amylase
Did respiration occur in the fermentation tube containing yeast and starch? Why?
III. Aerobic Respiration
1. What is an electron transport chain?
2. Based on Lab, Section III, Exercise 2, what color was the solution in the beaker after exhaling into the solution?
3. Explain the color change.
4. Which respiratory bottle produced carbon dioxide?
5. Based on Lab, Section III, Exercise 3, use the data collected to measure metabolic rate and record in the following table:
1. Mass of rodent (g):
2. Surface area of rodent in square meters (m2):
3. Average time to consume 2 ml of oxygen from Table 7.3 (sec):
4. Oxygen consumption by the rodent (l/hr):
Calculation = 2ml/45.67 multiplied by 3600/1000
5. Calculated oxygen consumption of the rodent (l/hr/m2):
Calculation = .1576/.0139
6. Calculated metabolic rate of rodent (Cal/hr/m2):
Calculation = 11.34 X 4.8
6. Compare rodent metabolic rate to that of male and female humans.
Rodent Male Female
Metabolic rate
Age n/a
IV. Heat Balance and Human Metabolism
Go to Lab, Section IV, Exercise 4 to record your height in inches, age, weight, and sex.
Height (in.) Weight (lb.)
Age Sex
2. Calculate your BMR and enter your answer below.
BMR Cal/day
3. Using the same calculations, estimate your basal metabolic rate in 20 years.
4. What happens to your basal metabolic rate as you age?
V. Factors That Determine Metabolic Rate
Indicate how the following factors affect BMR:
body surface area
external temperature
nutritional state
Summary Questions
1. Name three foods that are products of fermentation.
2. Why is oxygen necessary for aerobic respiration?
3. Describe the interdependence between photosynthesis and respiration. Include an equation with two yield arrows to demonstrate this interdependence.
4. In which organelle is pyruvate converted into ATP?
5. Define metabolism.
6. What is the connection between Calories and cellular respiration? Why is human metabolism measured in Calories?
7. Explain how the metabolic rate of an animal can be determined by measuring its rate of oxygen consumption.
8. How does the BMR for a person of your age and sex compare with a rodent’s metabolic rate?