Yeast is a singled celled fungus that contains protein and is part of the fermentation process. As explained in question nine, fermentation is the process of the breakdown of sugars by bacteria and yeast using a method of respiration without oxygen (anaerobic respiration).
It involves a culture of yeast and a solution of sugar, producing ethanol and carbon dioxide with the aid of the enzymes. The process of fermentation and bread making requires retain conditions to assist the growth of the yeast. In this experiment, we investigated the conditions required for yeast to grow and how the live yeast produces heat in anaerobic respiration.
From our results, we can see that the cooked yeast decreased in temperature which resulted in a negative number in the change of temperature, whereas the uncooked yeast increased in temperature which resulted in a positive number in the change of temperature. The reason why the uncooked yeast produced more heat than the cooked yeast is because the enzymes in the live yeast were still active and had not en acted on by heat like the cooked yeast had and were still able to react with the sugar which acted as a substrate for the yeast.
The temperature reading from the probe allowed us to know if the yeast had reacted with the sugar and to understand that yeast needs certain conditions in order to react and grow. The reliability of the results of this experiment could be improved if there was repetition of the experiment, different amounts of yeast and sugar were used and different times allocated for data to be collected other than 10 minutes.
