DELHI PUBLIC SCHOOL, RANIPUR

Class: IX

Subject: BIOLOGY

Chapter: IMPROVEMENT IN FOOD RESOURCES

DATE: 13 June, 2020

EXPRIMENT: 02 (BIOLOGY)

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• Kindly write this experiment in your biology practical file.

• The live experiment will be shown to you whenever school reopens.

Objective: Test for the presence of starch in a given food sample.

Theory:
Starch is the most common carbohydrate in the human diet and is contained in many
staple foods. The major sources of starch intake worldwide are cereals (rice, wheat, and
maize) and root vegetables (potatoes and cassava). We can use iodine solution to test
for the presence of starch. If starch is present is a food item, it turns blue-black colour
when iodine solution is added to it.

Materials Required
Procedure:
 Place a potato on a tile.
 Grind or chop the potato into small pieces, using a knife.
 Using a spatula transfer these pieces of potato into a beaker.
 Pour some distilled water into the beaker.
 Place the beaker containing the mixture over a hot plate.
 Heat the mixture for 5 minutes while continuously stirring it with a glass rod.
 Take another beaker and cover its mouth with a muslin cloth.
 Secure the muslin cloth around the mouth of the beaker by tying it with a thread.
 Filter the solution through this beaker.
 Now take a clean test tube and pour some of the filtrate into it.
 Take a few drops of iodine solution using a dropper.
 Add a couple of these drops into the test solution.

Observation:
The test solution turns blue-black in colour.
Inference
Iodine reacts with starch to form starch/iodine complex which has a blue-black colour.
The appearance of blue-black colour confirms the presence of starch in the given food
sample.

Precaution
 While using iodine solution, be careful, as it is toxic if swallowed or inhaled.
 While heating, care should be taken that the solution does not splash on your
face.