Effect of Anhydrous Ammonia on the Dehydration Rate of Plant vs. Animals Cell

  

PURPOSE

The purpose of this experiment was to compare the dehydration rate of plant and animal cells exposed to anhydrous ammonia.

I became interested in this idea when a Yakima County Sheriff’s Department drug detective showed me money that had been dehydrated by anhydrous ammonia.

The information gained from this experiment could help people preserve food. Also it will help with food transportation because dehydration cuts down the weight by taking away the moisture.  This could also help space travel.

                                                   HYPOTHESIS

My hypothesis was that the animal cells would dehydrate more completely and faster than the plant cells.

I based my hypothesis on an Internet site of Florida State University that said, “plant cells have a rigid wall surrounding the plasma membrane” it also said that “animal cells don’t have a cell wall.” This means that the plant cell has a harder outside with the rigid cell wall and the animal cell doesn’t, so it should be easier to take all the moisture out.

                                            EXPERIMENT DESIGN

The constants in this study were:

• Anhydrous ammonia
• Temperature
• Size
• Time
• Brand of plastic sandwich bag

The manipulated variable was the different types of food being dehydrated.

The responding variable was the weight of the cells after being dehydrated.

To measure the responding variable I used a digital scale calibrated in grams. 

MATERIALS

QUANTITY	ITEM DESCRIPTION
2	Steaks
2	Pork chops
2	Chickens
2	Apples
2	Oranges
2	Celery
2	Broccoli
1	Triple Beam Balance
1	Ruler
1	Knife
3 Pints	Anhydrous Ammonia
1 Box	Plastic Sandwich Bags
1	Sink
1	Wooden Spoon
1	Pot
1	Strainer
1	Tongs

  

PROCEDURES

1. Prepare foods for drying

a) Clean and dry

b) Slice food into 2 by 2 by 8 cm strips

c) Store in a sandwich bag and record weight

d) Repeat until all food has been weighed 

e) For the orange take off peel

2. Find a well ventilated area

3. Put 250ml of anhydrous ammonia into the metal pot

4. Put the three pieces of beef into the same pot

5. Stir and mix the food and ammonia around with the wooden spoon

6. Take out using the tongs and/or wooden spoon

7. Put the dehydrated food back in plastic bag

8. Get new anhydrous ammonia (250ml)

9. Repeat steps 4-8 using the other foods

10. Continue until all food has been dehydrated

11. Dispose all anhydrous ammonia in a well ventilated area

12. Record new weights

                                                                RESULTS

The original purpose of this experiment was to compare the dehydration rate of plant and animal cells exposed to anhydrous ammonia.

The results of the experiment were that the anhydrous ammonia dehydrated the animal cells the most with a total of 13.75 and the plant cells the least with a total of 12.25.

 

CONCLUSION

My hypothesis was that the animal cells would dehydrate more completely and faster than the plant cells.

The results indicate that this hypothesis should be accepted.

Because of the results of this experiment, I wonder if different types of plant and animal products would dehydrate in a similar manner.

If I were to conduct this project again I would have conducted more trials and would have used more types of food.  

Researched -  Brooke S.