How Carbon Dioxide Production in Yeast Changes Based on Type of Sugar

Abstract

Saccharomyces cerevisiae (yeast) has many important uses in the lives of humans today. It uses the process of “fermentation to make baked goods, beverages, and biofuels” (Ransom 2016). It is therefore important to understand what affects the growth and well-being of yeast (French 2016). We hypothesized that Carbon dioxide production, indicative of growth rate, would vary depending on the type of sugar in the solution, and that the table sugar would cause the greatest Carbon dioxide production. The rate of Carbon dioxide production is indicative of the growth rate of yeast because it is a byproduct In our experiment we tested the growth rate of yeast, via Carbon dioxide production, when put in solutions with different types of sugar. Beginning with water, sugar was then added with sodium phosphate to make the solution to put the yeast in. The level of Carbon dioxide produced by the yeast was measured over a 30 minute time trial. The result of this experiment showed that the level of Carbon dioxide in the biochamber over time did change depending on the type of sugar the yeast was given to feed on, and our hypothesis was therefore supported.