Testing leaves for starch

1. The teacher will come and pour some boiling water into
a beaker. DANGER. BE CAREFUL OF THE BOILING
WATER. Put the flame from the alcohol burner under
the beaker to keep it hot. Boil for 5 minutes.

All of the starch is inside the cells. We need to boil the

leaf to break the cell walls and cell membranes.

2. PUT OUT THE FLAME. We are going to use ethanol now. DANGER.
ENTHANOL IS VERY FLAMMABLE. Remove the leaf from the water. Be
careful, it will be very soft and it will still be hot.

3. Collect some ethanol in a test tube. The teacher will

give it to you. Put your leaf into the test tube with the
ethanol. Put the test tube into the beaker of hot water.
DO NOT LIGHT YOUR FIRE. You will see the ethanol
turning green. What do you think the green colour is?

4. Use the tweezers to take the leaf out of the test tube. Dip it into the
warm water to soften it.

5. Spread the leaf on a tile. Drop some iodide

solution onto it. DO NOT GET ANY ON YOUR
HANDS. Does it change to blue/black?

 What gives leaves their green colour?

 What does chlorophyll do?
 Where is chlorophyll stored?
 Where does photosynthesis happen?
 Where is starch stored?
 Why is it stored there?