Baker’s Best Friend: the Effects of Sucrose and Dextrose on CO2 Production in Yeast

Abstract

In this lab, we were hoping to discover the different effects that dextrose and sucrose had on yeast production when compared to each other. In the production of many different goods used by humans, baker’s yeast is necessary. If we can use strains of yeast that are higher performing, we can produce goods at a more efficient rate. In order to test this, we measured the CO₂ output of the solutions containing yeast to determine which one was the most productive. We discovered that sucrose produces a much greater amount of CO₂ when combined with yeast. Along with this, when sugars are added in larger amounts, more CO₂ is also produced.