Biology AS OCR
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1-1-practical-skills-written-assessment AS7 主题
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1-2-practical-skills-endorsement-assessment AS16 主题
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1-2-1-practical-ethical-use-of-organisms as
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1-2-2-practical-aseptic-techniques as
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1-2-3-practical-dissection-of-gas-exchange-surfaces-in-fish-and-insects as
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1-2-4-drawing-cells-from-blood-smears as
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1-2-5-practical-investigating-biodiversity-using-sampling as
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1-2-6-practical-data-loggers-and-computer-modelling as
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1-2-7-practical-investigating-the-rate-of-diffusion as
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1-2-8-practical-investigating-water-potential as
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1-2-9-practical-factors-affecting-membrane-structure-and-permeability as
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1-2-10-biochemical-tests-reducing-sugars-and-starch as
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1-2-11-biochemical-tests-lipids as
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1-2-12-biochemical-tests-proteins as
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1-2-13-chromatography as
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1-2-14-serial-dilutions as
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1-2-15-practical-investigating-the-rate-of-transpiration as
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1-2-16-practical-using-a-light-microscope as
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1-2-1-practical-ethical-use-of-organisms as
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2-1-cell-structure AS9 主题
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2-1-2-using-a-microscope as
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2-1-3-drawing-cells as
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2-1-4-magnification-and-resolution as
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2-1-5-eukaryotic-cells as
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2-1-6-eukaryotic-cells-under-the-microscope as
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2-1-7-organelles-and-the-production-of-proteins as
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2-1-8-the-cytoskeleton as
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2-1-9-prokaryotic-and-eukaryotic-cells as
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2-1-1-studying-cells as
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2-1-2-using-a-microscope as
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2-2-biological-molecules AS17 主题
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2-2-1-properties-of-water as
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2-2-2-monomers-and-polymers as
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2-2-3-monosaccharides as
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2-2-4-the-glycosidic-bond as
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2-2-5-polysaccharides as
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2-2-6-biochemical-tests-reducing-sugars-and-starch as
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2-2-7-lipids-and-ester-bonds as
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2-2-8-lipids-structure-and-function as
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2-2-9-biochemical-tests-lipids as
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2-2-10-amino-acids-and-peptide-bonds as
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2-2-11-protein-structure as
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2-2-12-globular-proteins as
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2-2-13-fibrous-proteins as
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2-2-14-inorganic-ions as
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2-2-15-biochemical-tests-proteins as
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2-2-16-finding-the-concentration-of-a-substance as
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2-2-17-chromatography as
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2-2-1-properties-of-water as
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2-3-nucleotides-and-nucleic-acids AS8 主题
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2-4-enzymes AS9 主题
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2-4-1-the-role-of-enzymes as
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2-4-2-enzyme-action as
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2-4-3-enzyme-activity-ph as
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2-4-4-enzyme-activity-temperature as
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2-4-5-enzyme-activity-enzyme-concentration as
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2-4-6-enzyme-activity-substrate-concentration as
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2-4-7-enzyme-activity-enzyme-inhibitors as
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2-4-8-coenzymes-cofactors-and-prosthetic-groups as
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2-4-9-practical-measuring-enzyme-activity as
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2-4-1-the-role-of-enzymes as
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2-5-biological-membranes AS9 主题
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2-5-1-the-cell-surface-membrane as
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2-5-2-membrane-structure-and-permeability as
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2-5-3-diffusion-and-facilitated-diffusion as
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2-5-4-practical-investigating-the-rate-of-diffusion as
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2-5-5-active-transport as
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2-5-6-endocytosis-and-exocytosis as
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2-5-7-osmosis as
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2-5-8-osmosis-in-animal-and-plant-cells as
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2-5-9-practical-investigating-water-potential as
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2-5-1-the-cell-surface-membrane as
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2-6-cell-division-cell-diversity-and-cellular-organisation AS11 主题
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2-6-1-the-cell-cycle as
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2-6-2-the-stages-of-mitosis as
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2-6-3-identifying-mitosis-in-plant-cells as
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2-6-4-the-significance-of-mitosis as
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2-6-5-the-stages-of-meiosis as
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2-6-6-the-significance-of-meiosis as
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2-6-7-specialised-cells as
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2-6-8-the-organisation-of-cells as
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2-6-9-stem-cells as
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2-6-10-stem-cells-in-animals-and-plants as
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2-6-11-the-use-of-stem-cells as
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2-6-1-the-cell-cycle as
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3-1-exchange-surfaces AS7 主题
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3-2-transport-in-animals AS12 主题
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3-2-1-the-need-for-transport-systems-in-animals as
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3-2-2-circulatory-systems as
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3-2-3-blood-vessels as
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3-2-4-tissue-fluid as
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3-2-5-the-mammalian-heart as
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3-2-6-practical-mammalian-heart-dissection as
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3-2-7-the-cardiac-cycle as
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3-2-8-cardiac-output as
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3-2-9-heart-action-initiation-and-control as
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3-2-10-electrocardiograms-ecgs as
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3-2-11-the-role-of-haemoglobin as
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3-2-12-adult-and-fetal-haemoglobin as
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3-2-1-the-need-for-transport-systems-in-animals as
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3-3-transport-in-plants AS11 主题
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3-3-1-the-need-for-transport-systems-in-plants as
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3-3-2-the-xylem-and-phloem as
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3-3-3-the-xylem as
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3-3-4-the-phloem as
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3-3-5-transverse-sections-stems-roots-and-leaves as
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3-3-6-the-process-of-transpiration as
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3-3-7-transpiration-in-plants as
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3-3-8-practical-investigating-the-rate-of-transpiration as
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3-3-9-translocation as
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3-3-10-the-mass-flow-hypothesis as
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3-3-11-the-adaptations-of-xerophytic-and-hydrophytic-plants as
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3-3-1-the-need-for-transport-systems-in-plants as
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4-1-communicable-diseases-disease-prevention-and-the-immune-system AS16 主题
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4-1-1-common-pathogens-and-communicable-diseases as
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4-1-2-transmission-of-communicable-pathogens as
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4-1-3-plant-defences-against-pathogens as
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4-1-4-non-specific-immune-responses as
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4-1-5-phagocytes as
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4-1-6-blood-cells as
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4-1-7-the-t-lymphocyte-response as
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4-1-8-the-b-lymphocyte-response as
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4-1-9-primary-and-secondary-immune-responses as
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4-1-10-antibodies as
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4-1-11-opsonins-agglutinins-and-anti-toxins as
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4-1-12-types-of-immunity as
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4-1-13-autoimmune-diseases as
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4-1-14-principles-of-vaccination as
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4-1-15-sources-of-medicine as
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4-1-16-antibiotics as
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4-1-1-common-pathogens-and-communicable-diseases as
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4-2-biodiversity AS10 主题
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4-2-1-biodiversity as
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4-2-2-sampling-to-determine-biodiversity as
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4-2-3-practical-investigating-biodiversity-using-sampling as
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4-2-4-measuring-species-richness-and-species-evenness as
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4-2-5-simpsons-index as
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4-2-6-genetic-diversity as
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4-2-7-factors-affecting-biodiversity as
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4-2-8-reasons-for-maintaining-biodiversity as
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4-2-9-methods-of-maintaining-biodiversity as
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4-2-10-conservation-agreements as
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4-2-1-biodiversity as
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4-3-classification-and-evolution AS15 主题
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4-3-1-classification-of-species as
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4-3-2-binomial-system as
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4-3-3-classification-of-the-three-domains as
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4-3-4-classification-of-the-five-kingdoms as
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4-3-5-classification-and-phylogeny as
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4-3-6-evidence-of-evolution as
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4-3-7-types-of-variation as
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4-3-8-standard-deviation as
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4-3-9-variation-t-test-method as
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4-3-10-variation-t-test-worked-example as
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4-3-11-spearmans-rank-correlation as
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4-3-12-adaptation as
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4-3-13-natural-selection as
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4-3-14-evolution-of-resistance as
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4-3-15-consequences-of-resistance as
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4-3-1-classification-of-species as
1-2-7-practical-investigating-the-rate-of-diffusion as
Exam code:H020
Practical: Investigating the Rate of Diffusion
Recording a range of quantitative measurements
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It is important to use appropriate apparatus when recording a range of quantitative measurements
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Quantitative measurements include things such as mass, time, volume, temperature, length and pH
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Mass should be recorded using a digital balance
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Time should be recorded using a digital stopwatch
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Volume should be recorded using a measuring cylinder
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Temperature should be recorded using a digital thermometer (although water baths have one built-in)
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Length should be recorded using a ruler
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The practical below is an example of an experiment that has used the correct apparatus to measure the dependent variable
Practical: Investigating the rate of diffusion using agar
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The effect of surface area to volume ratio on the rate of diffusion can be investigated by timing the diffusion of ions through different sized cubes of agar
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Coloured agar is cut into cubes of the required dimensions (eg. 0.5cm x 0.5cm x 0.5cm, 1cm x 1cm x 1cm and 2cm x 2cm x 2cm)
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Purple agar can be created if it is made up with very dilute sodium hydroxide solution and Universal Indicator
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Alternatively, the agar can be made up with Universal Indicator only
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The cubes are then placed into boiling tubes containing a diffusion solution (such as dilute hydrochloric acid)
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The acid should have a higher molarity than the sodium hydroxide so that its diffusion can be monitored by a change in colour of the indicator in the agar blocks
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Measurements can be taken of either:
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The time taken for the acid to completely change the colour of the indicator in the agar blocks
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A stopwatch is used
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The distance travelled into the block by the acid (shown by the change in colour of the indicator) in a given time period (eg. 5 minutes)
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A microscope and a stage micrometer (essentially a mini ruler) are used
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These times can be converted to rates (1 ÷ time taken)
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A graph could be drawn showing how the rate of diffusion (rate of colour change) changes with the surface area to volume ratio of the agar cubes

An example of how to set up an experiment to investigate the effect of changing surface area to volume ratio on the rate of diffusion
Examiner Tips and Tricks
When an agar cube (or for example a biological cell or organism) increases in size, the volume increases faster than the surface area, because the volume is cubed whereas the surface area is squared. When an agar cube (or biological cell / organism) has more volume but proportionately less surface area, diffusion takes longer and is less effective. In more precise scientific terms, the greater the surface area to volume ratio, the faster the rate of diffusion!
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