Mouse: Temperature vs Cellular Respiration Rate

In experiment we will evaluate how temperature affects the amount of carbon dioxide a mouse produces. The question we will research is why does the amount of food an animal consumes change depending on temperature? To answer this question we will look at cellular respiration rates by observing the rate of carbon dioxide produced. A mouse in a cold environment will produce more carbon dioxide than a mouse in a warmer environment because the colder mouse is performing cellular respiration at a faster rate. We placed a mouse in a respiration chamber with three different temperatures and observed over a period of three minutes. We found that when you expose a mouse to colder temperatures the amount of carbon dioxide in the respiration chamber increases at a faster rate than when the mouse was exposed to the other two temperatures. From this we can infer that the mouse is producing more carbon dioxide. Because of the increase in carbon dioxide it can also be inferred that the mouse has an increased metabolic rate when exposed to cold temperatures.