Yeast is a single celled organism that uses sugar in the process of cellular respiration. Javier prepared a warm sugar water solution in a large plastic bottle and added yeast to it. He then placed a balloon over the bottle top. As shown here.
Which of the following statements best explains how the change in the
balloon is related to the general process of cellular respiration?
The balloon is expanding due to the production of carbon dioxide gas as a byproduct of the yeast's cellular respiration of the sugar in the solution.
The change in the balloon is related to the general process of cellular respiration because yeast undergoes cellular respiration in the presence of sugar in order to obtain energy. During cellular respiration, yeast breaks down the sugar molecules through a series of chemical reactions, resulting in the release of carbon dioxide gas as a byproduct.
In this particular experiment, Javier added yeast to a warm sugar water solution inside a bottle and covered the bottle top with a balloon. As the yeast cells consume the sugar and undergo cellular respiration, they produce carbon dioxide gas. The gas released by the yeast fills up the bottle and eventually enters the balloon, causing it to inflate or expand.
The balloon acts as a visual indicator of the presence of carbon dioxide, which is a key product of cellular respiration. The inflation of the balloon demonstrates that the yeast cells are utilizing the sugar in the process of cellular respiration, producing carbon dioxide as a result. This observation is consistent with the general process of cellular respiration, where organisms break down organic compounds (such as sugar) to release energy for their own metabolic processes.