Comparing Salt and Sugar Effects on Ethanol Production in Yeast

Abstract

For our study we decided to compare the effects that sugar (sucrose) and non-ionized salt have on ethanol production in Baker’s yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae). To do this we ran three trials of a sugar and yeast solution and three trials of a salt and yeast solution, measuring the rate of ethanol production for a period of ten minutes each. We measured ethanol production because ethanol is a by-product of fermentation, a process the yeast undergoes to provide its energy at the cellular level when depleted of oxygen. Our hypothesis that the sugar and yeast solution would produce more ethanol than the salt and yeast solutions was supported through the data we collected.