South Campus BIOL 1000 Lab Supplemental

Lab Exercise 6: Molecules of Life

Note: This handout is meant to be paired with the information in your lab manual and perhaps additional
explanations from your instructor, as needed.

The general goal of this lab is to understand how to test a solution for the presence of different organic
molecules: sugar, starch, protein, and lipid. You will need to know which reagent to use for each test and how to
properly interpret positive and negative results. To help you achieve these goals, you will:

1. Utilize several virtual labs within McGraw-Hill Connect. Three of the four assigned virtual labs are
extremely similar to the labs described in your lab manual; the fourth (the test for fat/lipid) is quite
different but is included because it showcases an additional straightforward technique for the detection
of lipid molecules.
2. Analyze the test tubes pictured in this handout. Every single test tube you would have prepared (using
the techniques you’ll be exposed to in the virtual labs mentioned above) and analyzed during this lab is
presented below. You can use these pictures to fill out the data sheets for Exercise 6 in your lab manual.
Please note that, in the lab manual, the reagents and procedures used for detection of molecules are
introduced in Parts A-C; these various tests are then all applied in Part D to test an unknown solution for
each type of molecule. In the pictures below, the unknown solution result is pictured alongside the
control tubes made in Parts A-C.

PART A: TEST FOR CARBOHYDRATES

Complete both accompanying McGraw-Hill Virtual Labs (Chemical Composition of Cells – Test for Starch
and Chemical Composition of Cells – Test for Sugars), as directed by your instructor.

Starch test with Iodine reagent

Upon addition of iodine reagent, solutions that contain starch will turn dark blue/black, and solutions that do not
contain starch will turn yellow/amber.

From left to right: positive control, negative control, unknown

Sugar test with Benedict's reagent

For the sugar test, tubes must be boiled for three minutes after the addition of Benedict’s reagent before they
can be analyzed. A negative result is indicated by clear, bright aqua blue. Any change from this clear, bright
aqua blue indicates a positive result.

From left to right: Tubes 1-5, unknown

Tube Solution Color Result

1 Water Clear, bright aqua blue -
2 0.005% glucose Cloudy aqua +
3 0.05% glucose Cloudy brown/aqua +
4 0.5% glucose Red +
5 5% glucose Reddish brown +
Unknown Unknown Orange ???
PART B: TEST FOR PROTEIN
Complete the accompanying McGraw-Hill Virtual Lab (Chemical Composition of Cells – Test for Proteins),
as directed by your instructor.

Protein test with Biuret reagent

A solution without protein will turn light blue (baby blue or sky blue). A solution that contains protein will turn
lavender/lilac/purple. (Remember the 3 Ps: purple, protein, positive!). Note: The unknown tube in the picture
below did not turn out great, but testing the unknown solution resulted in a purple color.

From left to right: negative control, positive control, unknown.

PART C: TEST FOR LIPIDS
Complete the accompanying McGraw-Hill Virtual Lab (Chemical Composition of Cells – Test for Fat), as
directed by your instructor. As noted above, this is the virtual lab that uses a very different technique than the
one we use during our normal lab. However, it is included to expose you to another option for the detection of
lipids – one that you may even be able to try at home if you have the necessary supplies (a brown paper bag and
various solutions to test, like water, vegetable oil, milk, etc.)!

The test we typically perform in lab is detailed in your lab manual and outlined below.

Lipid test with Sudan IV

The lipid test is the only test that is not based on a color change - all tubes will be some version of
pink/orange/red. Instead, you need to look for the formation of layers within the solution. With a negative
result, the solution will only have one layer; with a positive result, (at least) two layers will be observed. (As
outlined in your lab manual, this test basically consists of mixing water with the solution to be tested. Because
oil/lipids and water don’t mix, if the solution you are testing contains oil/lipid, you will see those layers separate
from one another.

From left to right: positive control, negative control, unknown

PART D: TEST FOR AN UNKNOWN SOLUTION

As you’ve already seen in the pictures above, an unknown solution was tested for the presence of starch, sugar,
protein, and lipid. Based on the pictures and descriptions above, fill out the data sheet for Part D in your lab
manual and answer the following questions:

1. Does the unknown solution contain starch?

2. Does the unknown solution contain sugar?
3. Does the unknown solution contain protein?
4. Does the unknown solution contain lipid?