Resumen de Measuring Yeast Fermentation Kinetics with a Homemade Water Displacement Volumetric Gasometer
A simple homemade water displacement volumetric gasometer constructed from plastic water bottles, plastic tubing, and a graduated cylinder was used to measure the evolution of carbon dioxide by the fermentation of sugars by baker’s yeast. The apparatus provides reproducible, quantitative data that can be graphed to display phenomena such as induction lag time, steady-state growth, and nutrient depletion, and can be used to demonstrate the effect of a variety of conditions (such as carbohydrate type and concentration, inhibitors, pH, and temperature) on yeast fermentation kinetics. Advanced students can use the gasometer to calculate kinetic parameters such as the Michaelis constant, maximal velocity, and activation energy. The gasometer can be a versatile tool for exploring the principles of fermentation and enzyme kinetics in science laboratories ranging from elementary school to high school advanced placement chemistry and first-year college chemistry.
