Lab Report

1 Pages 353 Words

Introduction

There are four important biologically important molecules. There a lipids, proteins and two forms of carbohydrates. The two forms of carbohydrates are reducing sugars and also starches. Biological molecules are very important for which they are in most of the foods we eat. Sugars and protein make up a great source of what we eat. If we didn’t have sugar or protein, nobody would have much energy to do the things they like to do.
Carbohydrates are molecules made of carbon, hydrogen and oxygen. Most carbohydrates are made from monosaccharides which are simple sugars. Reducing sugars are many monosaccharides that are made w/ aldehydes and ketone. The test we did for reducing sugars was the Benedicts test where we took seven tubes and used Benedicts solution to see what color changes we would see. We believed that the simple sugars would change color and the starches would not. For starches we would use iodine. If the starches were present then they would be a yellowish-brown, but if they turned blue or black they tested positive for starch.
Lipids are triglycerides or fats that are made of glycerol and three fatty acids. Lipids do not dissolve in polar solvents like water. In our experiment to detect if there were lipids present, we layed a paper towel down and put many household products on the paper towel. We then put a drop of water on the controls. If they left a grease stain then there would be lipids present, but if it dissolved then there were none. We guessed that thick substances would leave grease stains.
Proteins are a necessity for people. We need protein to help build muscle, energy and to keep us in shape. Proteins are made up of amino acids that have a amino group and a carboxyl group. For our experiment we used the biuret test. If the control would turn to a violet purple color then there were proteins present. I believed that most of the controls would have proteins present....