The tablet that was left whole had an average dissolving time of 5minites 12 seconds, the halves had an average of 4 minutes 13 seconds , the thirds was an average of 4minutes 2 seconds and the last tablet, the quarters has the shortest time of 3 minutes 38 seconds My experiment was repeated three times, i did this as it helps to improve the reliability of my test. The test was as accurate as possible but of course no test is performed perfectly, there are always errors that occur and errors that cannot be helped.
To keep my experiment accurate I used the same measurements of water, the same amount of tablets, the same brand of tablets and the same water temperature but some errors I had during my experiment was that when cutting the tablets into thirds it wouldn’t snap easily once I had cut lines so I had to use two tablets to get the correct sizes meaning the tablet size for that test may not have been as accurate as it should have also the timer was not always started when the tablet was dropped into the water meaning the data may not have been completely accurate.
There was things I could have improved on in the test include having a proper cutter to cut the tablets into size, having the timer started correctly, taking the pictures at the correct second in each 15 second interval. In conclusion this science assessment was to find out if surface area affects reaction rate, and this experiment proved that surface area in fact does affect reaction rate.
My experiment used a berocca tablet that was either cut into sections or left whole, the smaller fractions had a larger surface area as there was more area to cover, the pieces were then put into water to see what sized tablet reacted to the water the fastest. My hypothesis was supported as it was proven that the smaller pieces which had a larger surface area were much quicker to disintegrate in the water. Obtaining water and minerals from different sources means you need various structures and features to suit each source.
For aquatic environments the water and minerals are obtained and absorbed through the surface of the plants whereas for terrestrial plants the minerals and water they need is obtained through the root systems. Root systems need to have a large surface area to be able to absorb a sufficient amount of nutrients to provide for the whole plant which is accomplished by the many root hairs and the branching structure which also doubles up as an anchor for the plant. There are many root systems included in the plant;
Tap roots- these roots are one of the main ones that have roots coming out the side of it, tap roots are deep into the soil and are sometimes used as storage organs that swell up. Fibrous roots – are roots that form networks of roots that are closer to the soil surface so they can be widely spread to support the plant and to be beneficial to absorb the minerals and water as they have a large surface area. Mychorrhiza- the root system is living in association with fungi having a symbiotic relationship, this relationship provides more mineral nutrients from the fungi to the plant and the plant provides the fungi with carbon based products.
Aerial roots- there are located in water logged estuaries or swamps, plants have roots that grow above the ground and this helps to exchange gases For the internal root structures they mostly include three parts; the epidermis, the Cortex and the vascular tissue The epidermis is the outer layer of the root but doesn’t have a cuticle, in young roots they have a slimy coating or sheath to protect the outer which is called the mucigel.
The cortex is located in between the epidermis and the vascular tissue it is used as a storage area for excess materials it also has air spaces to use for gas flow. Vascular tissue forms a cylinder in the centre of roots, it is made of xylem and phloem vessels this tissue transports water and nutrients. Drop point 3 To obtain needed sunlight and carbon dioxide the leaf has a special structure that helps absorb the nutrients, the parts of the leaf on the inside includes the lamina which is the blade of the leaf, the petiole which is the part that attaches it to the stem.
The structure of the leaf on the exterior helps this process, these adaptations include is the the shape of the leaf- most of the leaves are thin, flat and broad which increases the surface area and the leaf receives more sunlight and gas exchange for respiration and more importantly photosynthesis. The leaves are also arranged in a way that gives them maximum chance to absorb more sunlight usually positioned where the sunlight reaches the upper section of the leaf. The internal structure of the leaf has many functions;
Stomates- which are pores that can open and close when the pores are open it allows gas exchange but results in water loss it also has cuticles- a waxy layer over the leafs surface that provides shape and protection from the wax being waterproof, this is important in reducing water loss in the plant. Mesophyll- are cells is located in the middle of the cell in-between the lower and upper epidermis there are two types of mesophyll- palisade mesophyll which are regularly arranged, elongated and are full of chloroplasts most of the photosynthesis process takes place in these cells.
The other is spongy mesophyll which is located under the palisade and above the lower epidermis; these cells contains less chloroplast and are randomly arranged with large air spaces to allow gas exchange. Epidermis- is a single protective layer made up of cells on the upper and lower side of the leaves, light is able to pass through it since it is transparent. Veins- tubes of vascular tissue in plants which form a branching network with the leaves, this structure provides structure and shape.
Vascular tissue: Xylem- transports the water and minerals from the roots to the leaves Phloem- transports products of photosynthesis to the other parts of the plant Dot point 4 the role of teeth is to break the food down to a size that is beneficial to digestion. When broken into small pieces it adds chemical enzymes to the food and it increases the surface area of the food. Although the volume of the food is the same the ratio of surface area to volume is increased as the large pieces of food are now considerably smaller. This helps prove that teeth play a major role in increasing the rate of reaction with the digestive enzymes, producing a faster and more efficient digestion rate.
The chemicals that are there to help , penetrate the matter to break down the complex foods. During the stage of mechanical digestion the food is chewed thoroughly and is covered in saliva which is a bacterium that helps digest the food, all the different shapes and sized teeth play a role in this process. Teeth help you chew your food, making it easier to digest. Each type of tooth has a slightly different shape and performs a different job. Types of teeth include: The molars- molars have between 3 and 4 rough cusps that are essential to grinding the food
Premolars are used to chew and grind food. The first premolars appear around age 10 and the second premolars arrive about a year later. There are at least eight premolars in your mouth, two on the upper and two on the lower jaw on each side. Primary molars are also used to chew and grind foods but they roll and crush foods unlike premolars that only chew and grind. Third molars are most commonly known as wisdom teeth, These are the last teeth to develop and some people never develop third molars at all.
For those who do develop these, the teeth may cause crowding and need to be removed from the mouth. Incisors are the eight teeth in the front and centre of your mouth, These are the teeth that are used to takes bites of your foods and are usually the first of all the teeth to erupt. Your four canines are the next style of teeth to develop, this style of tooth is the sharpest of all as they are primarily used to tear and rip food apart. All these types of teeth help majorly in the digestion process, they all break the foods up differently with the styles of the tooth.
There second section of digestion- chemical digestion- this involves using enzymes to chemically break the food down there is three enzymes needed: -Amylases – enzyme that acts on carbohydrates and breaks starch down into sugars -Proteases – enzyme that acts on proteins -Lipases – enzyme that acts on lipids Dot point 5 This deer, a grazing herbivorous mammal, have a very detailed digestive system. The system includes a four-chambered stomach with a large rumen and the small and large intestines. This is a complex digestive system with multiple aspects.
The deer ingests and digests the plant based matter into its first stomach which is softened by the stomachs bacteria. The cud (partly digested food in the 1st stomach) is then chewed, the cud is regurgitated from the rumen which is a unique part of the digestive system that allows this process called “ruminating” to take place. After digestion the food travels through both of the intestines, the food that cannot be absorbed, the waste products is disposed of. Grazing herbivores have a large stomach surface area since there is more complex foods to break down and absorb.
These complex foods include plant material which is made up of cellulose, this is why herbivores have flat teeth to grind the fibrous plant material as it is difficult to break down but with the help of mirco organisms this process is made a little easier by helping the animals digest the plants. This justifies why herbivore have such a large stomach, as plants take longer to digest. The fox- a carnivore, has the least complex digestive system of mammals and is also less complex then any herbivores or omnivores.
Food is chewed and goes down the oesophagus and works its way down to the stomach where the food starts to break down by the proteins present and it changes to liquid form. Almost all nutrients are absorbed into the body during the chemical enzymatic digestive stage which takes place in the small intestines. The waste, the remaining unabsorbed food, is secreted. Foxes are diets highly adaptable, Foxes hunt and scavenge for their food, mostly consisting of eating meat.
Red foxes have smaller stomachs — A smaller stomach means they need to eat more often, foxes opportunistically eat a variety of foods as they scavenge at night, such as insects, fruits, earthworms, and scraps left by humans. All of this is mind helps you understand why carnivores have a smaller stomach, as meat is high in energy and is quite easy to digest hence having short large intestines, as the meat has already been absorbed in the small intestines. Australian Honey possum -A nectarvore is a creature who’s main component of their diet consists of nectar.
A nectarvore has a few differences in the digestive system compared to other marsupial, the first being the absence of the caecum which makes it near impossible to tell where the small intestine ends and the large one starts. The second being that the nectarvore has a two chambered stomach instead of four chambers, one a thin tube the other chamber, the diverticulum which is where the extra nectar is stored. The possum has a small stomach surface area as the food its eats doesn’t need excessive stomachs to digest as their diet consists of simple, un-complex foods to break down.
