BIO/350 v5

Food Macromolecules Lab Reporting

Worksheet
In science, reporting what has been done in a laboratory setting is incredibly important for communicating,
replicating, and validating findings. However, writing scientific reports can be a little overwhelming. There
is a set of agreed-upon components that the scientific community requires when reporting scientific
research. Answer the following questions to describe what occurred during the lab you conducted in
Labster. Be sure to use complete sentences and descriptions that fully represent what you experienced.
Writing a lab report is less about being correct or incorrect than it is accurately reporting what happened
and why. So, do not worry about reporting data that might seem counterintuitive or unexpected. Focus on
clearly communicating what you did and what you observed.
Write your answers on a new line.

Title
1. What was the title of the lab you completed?
Understanding the structure of macromolecules in food and how to detect their
presence in food samples.
Topic
2. What was the subject you were trying to understand better in the lab?
I was trying to understand the types of macromolecules found in food, their structure,
and how to detect their presence in different food samples.

Background Information
3. What information from the textbook and classroom is relevant for the subject you were trying to gain a
better understand of in the lab? Identify the concepts and explain how they are related to the lab
topic.

Textbook tells about Deductive reasoning where we make an observation, ask a question,
form a hypothesis, make a prediction based on the hypothesis, do an experiment to test
the prediction, analyze the results, see if the hypothesis is supported or not, input the
results and repeat the experiment. Here the observation is Alice ordered a cabbage salad,
question is if the cabbage salad contains all the macromolecules body need. The
hypothesis is that it contains mainly complex carbohydrates. Then four experiments are
done to detect the presence of macromolecules. Benedict's test- to test presence of simple
carbohydrate, Biuret test to test for proteins, Iodine test to test for starch (complex
carbohydrate) and Sudan iv test to detect presence of fat. We analyze the results and
record it and see if it supports the hypothesis and it did.

Proteins, carbohydrates, nucleic acids, and lipids are the four major classes of biological
macromolecules—large molecules necessary for life that are built from smaller organic
molecules. Macromolecules are comprised of single units scientists call monomers that
are joined by covalent bonds to form larger polymers.

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Carbohydrates are sources of vital energy source for the cell and provide structural
support to plant cells. They are classified into carbohydrates as monosaccharides,
disaccharides, and polysaccharides depending on the number of monomers in the
molecule. Monosaccharides are linked by glycosidic bonds that form as a result of
dehydration reactions, forming disaccharides and polysaccharides by eliminating a water
molecule. Glucose, galactose, and fructose are monosaccharides. Cellulose is an example
of polysaccharide.

Proteins are macromolecules that help in producing enzymes, neurotransmitters,

hormones, and provide structural support. The building blocks of proteins are amino
acids. Each amino acid has a central carbon that bonds to an amino group, a carboxyl
group, a hydrogen atom, and an R group or side chain. A peptide bond links each amino
acid to its neighbors. A very long amino acid chain forms a polypeptide. Proteins are
organized at four levels: primary, secondary, tertiary, and quaternary. The primary
structure is the amino acids' unique sequence formed by nitrogen bases. It is designed by
the genetic material. The polypeptide's fold to form structures such as α-helix and β-
pleated sheet forming the secondary structure. The overall three-dimensional structure is
the tertiary structure. When two or more polypeptides combine to form the complete
protein structure and this forms the protein's quaternary structure.

Lipids are a class of macromolecules that are nonpolar and hydrophobic in nature. Major
types include fats and oils, waxes, phospholipids, and steroids. Fats are energy reservoirs
and are also known as triglycerides. Fatty acids are divided into unsaturated or saturated,
depending on the presence or absence of double bonds in the hydrocarbon chain. If only
single bonds are present, they are saturated fatty acids and presence of one or more
double bonds make it unsaturated fatty acids. Phospholipids are the most abundantly
found constituent in the cell membrane of plant cells.

Nucleic acids are macromolecules whose building blocks are nucleotides. They predict
and execute cellular activities such as cell division and protein synthesis. Nucleotide is
made of Pentose sugar, a nitrogenous base, and a phosphate group. There are two types of
nucleic acids: DNA and RNA. We do not test the presence of nucleic acid in Alice’s
salad in this lab as the hypothesis does not state about presence of nucleic acid

4. During the lab, what information from the theory section provided additional background information
about the subject? (To review the theory section, launch the lab and click the Theory tab on the top of
the data pad). Identify the concepts and explain how they are related to the lab topic.

Theory gave detailed explanation on the type of macromolecules, chemical structure with
its functional group and differences between them. It could be the difference in the
chemical make up that it reacts differently in different biochemistry tests. This forms the
basis of identifying the presence of each.

Macromolecules are large molecules created by polymerization of monomers. Therefore,

macromolecules are polymers. The different type of macromolecules are carbohydrates,
proteins, lipids and nucleic acids. All except lipid are polymers. Oligomers are made of a

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few monomers, for eg. Dimers and trimers. Oligomers are formed by non-covalent bonds
between macromolecules.

Carbohydrates can be divided into monosaccharide (single sugar molecule eg: glucose),
disaccharide (two sugar molecule) and polysaccharide (more than two sugar molecule).
Carbohydrate are important sources of energy and structural material for organisms.
Grains, fruits and vegetables are important source of carbohydrate. These foods contain
both soluble and insoluble (ie fiber eg: cellulose) carbohydrate. Dietary fiber is
polysaccharide. Humans cannot digest it and it promotes defecation, removes excess
cholesterol, promotes feeling of fullness. This is obtained from whole grains, fruits,
vegetables, legumes and nuts. Starch is a complex carbohydrate and it is found in food
like baked potato. Starch is a polymer. Glucose monomers can be joined by 1-6 linkages
in starch. There are two types of starch. Amylopectin which is branched and amylose
which is unbranched. Starch is alpha glucose and is a straight chain. Humans can easily
digest them. Too much consumption is bad for health.

Proteins are made of different construction of 20 amino acids. These amino acids are
connected by peptide bonds and form a polypeptide. A functional protein is not just an
individual polypeptide but the polypeptides fold into a unique molecular shape. The
protein structure defines its function. Proteins have atleast three structures. Primary,
secondary and tertiary structure. Primary structure is the polypeptide sequence.
Secondary structure consists of alpha-helix coils and beta sheet folds that result from
hydrogen bonds between oxygen and hydrogen. Tertiary structure is the overall shape of
the polypeptide resulting from all of the interactions between the side chains of various
aminoacids. A quaternary structure is possible when protein consists of tow or more
polypeptide chains.

Lipids refer to a group of water insoluble, non-polar compounds. Lipids include fats,
phospholipids, waxes, sterols etc. The major function is to store energy, mobilization and
utilization. Lipid include fat which is also known as triglyceride, 3 fatty acid molecules
joined by an ester linkage between a hydroxyl and carboxyl group. Fats are made of fatty
acids and based on the type of fatty acid, fats can be saturated and unsaturated. Trans fat
is formed by the hydrogenation of unsaturated fat to saturated fat. Essential fatty acids are
fatty acids required by the body but not produced in the body. It has to be in the diet. For
eg: Omega 6 and Omega 3 fatty acid.
5. Most scientific observation involves examining phenomena or processes. What phenomenon or
process were you observing in the lab? What were you able to change and explore? What did the
simulation not allow to change?

Phenomenon and processes observed in the lab: -

We made a hypothesis that Alice’s food contains complex carbohydrate as it mainly

contained cabbage. We then did biochemistry tests to detect the presence of different
macromolecules in food sample. The tests were

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Benedict's test – benedicts solution is used to detect reducing sugars, typically

monosaccharides or disaccharides. It will show positive result for reducing sugars like
glucose, fructose, lactose, maltose, galactose. It will show a negative result for non-
reducing sugars such as sucrose and starch. Here blue color is a negative result and Red is
a positive result. benedicts solution is a blue colored liquid that contains copper sulphate.
Copper binds to oxygen in the free aldehyde or ketone group forming a copper oxide
which is brown in color. A range of color will show positive result like red, orange,
yellow and yellow-green depending on the concentration of simple sugar in the test
sample. Limitation of benedict’s test is that it cannot detect table sugar or sucrose. Here
glucose is positive control and water is negative control.

Iodine test – Iodine solution or Lugol’s reagent has yellowish brown color. Iodine is a
chemical reagent that detects the presence of starch. Iodine interacts with and binds to a
structure in the starch molecule, forming a structure that transmits a dark bluish black
color, otherwise the sample remains yellow. The positive control is a potato and the
negative control is water. Here, Monosaccharides and other polysaccharides cause no
color change. Brown indicates some amount of complex sugars present .

Biuret test - Biuret solution is a blue liquid that contains copper sulphate and sodium
hydroxide. Copper sulphate actively binds to the peptide bonds in proteins, forming a
strcture that transmits a violet color in an alkaline environment. the sodium hydroxide
provides the alkaline environment. Negative result will remain blue and positive result
will turn purple. Pale yellow shows low level of protein in food and dark purple shows
high level of protein present.

Sudan IV test – Sudan iv is a red stain that detects the presence of lipid molecules. When
Sudan IV is added into a mixture of lipid and water, the dye will move into the lipid
layer, coloring it reddish-orange. Thus, it stains the lipid red. Two parameters are
expected in a positive result in Sudan IV test.

a) Layers- see two layers. Two layers show presence of water insoluble substance

b) Colors – red color layer is on the top. The sudan IV reagent migrate to the top and
color it red. This indicates that top layer is fat. Bottom layer will be colorless.

A negative result will only exhibit one layer. If sample doesn’t contain lipids, the Sudan
IV will form small micelles and disperse throughout the solution

Method
Describing what you did during a lab supports other scientists in replicating your work. It is through this
consistent replication that scientists are able to see repeating patterns and develop ideas that help move
science forward. When you discuss your observations, in a later section, you will have to describe, in
detail, what you did. You may also have to describe what choices you made, why you made them, and
any concerns about things that occurred that were unexpected. To have enough information to do this,
you need to keep very detailed notes. What doesn’t seem important in the moment may end up being
something that explains your findings later. A benefit of conducting virtual labs when learning science, is

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that many potential errors are controlled for you. The virtual lab environment often will alert you if
something is not going the way it should. This does not occur in non-virtual settings. The virtual lab setting
can be very helpful to learners for this reason. However, we still need to practice documenting so those
skills are practiced for the lab experiences when technology will not be there as a coach.
6. You have already described the phenomenon or process you studied in the lab in the previous
section. Now, take some time to fully describe the steps you took during the lab. Do not include the
process of you logging into the lab in your description. For this virtual lab, a short, high-level summary
will suffice.

There are three workstations and a molecular sequence monitor. The first workstation is
for testing the cabbage salad for carbohydrate. On the work bench is container with food
syrup, baked potato, benedict’s reagent, iodine solution, two test tube stands with test
tubes containing food sample, controls and other food components, test tube stands with
test tubes, boiling water, test tube holder, biohazard garbage bin, computer station
showing carbohydrate result screen.

Steps Taken: - Performing Benedict’s reagent test to see of the salad contains simple
sugars. Different test samples are taken in test tubes. Benedict reagent is added into each
by 1ml. The test sample is boiled at 100degrees for 5 minutes and analyzed for a color
change. Glucose is positive control and water is negative control for this assay.

Second step – Analyzing a baked potato to understand complex carbohydrate, starch.

Iodine is the chemical reagent used to test the presence of carbohydrate. Here potato is
the positive control and water is the negative control. Iodine agent is added to test tubes
on the right-hand side test tube stand using a dropper. We wait and watch the color
change. Yellow indicates absence of starch and dark blue/black indicate significant
amount of starch

After these two tests, we enter the results in carbohydrate result screen

We move to second workstation. There are test tube stands with tubes containing food
samples, gloves, protein result screen, biohazard garbage bin, biuret reagent and bowl of
eggs.

Third step is to test for proteins by Biuret experiment. We add 0.5ml of Biuret reagent to
all samples in the test tubes and wait for the color change. The positive control is the
sample with egg and biuret agent. it turned deep purple. Each sample exhibited its own
color change and it was marked in the biochemical test result screen for food
macromolecules.

Fourth step is done on workbench 3 on the right-hand side of the lab. Here presence of fat
is tested. The workbench is provided with sudan IV reagent, butter, bottle of water, tips
for pipette, two test tube stands, one with the sample of cabbage salad and the other with

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all the other food constituents. There is a vortex machine, biohazard bin, gloves and
screen to input tests.

A tube is filled up with water using a micropipette. Pipette kept back in the holder with
the micro tip on. Each test tube with water and food sample got vortexed and they were
kept back in the stand. Use the dropper from the sudan iv reagent and add drops into each
test tube. Each test tube is then vortexed and put back in the stand. We then waited for the
color change. All color was entered in the biochemical lab test result screen.

After all, four experiments, we went to workstation 2 to make a conclusion about the
cabbage salad’s composition.
7. Describe some of the observations you made. What did you write down or keep track of? What did
each of your senses observe during the lab process? What did you see (e.g., changes in colors,
movement, shapes, sizes, patterns)? What, if anything, did you measure? What did you hear (e.g.,
sounds from reactions, collisions, error messages)? What did your lab character touch? Did you
notice anything that seemed unexpected? Did you notice anything that you did not expect to
observe?

Observations for each step: -

For the Benedit’s reagent test Water, egg, vegetable oil remained blue indication absence
of simple sugars. Milk and bread samples turned orange indicating high level of simple
sugar. Glucose and Apple samples too turned red, indicating even higher level of simple
sugar. Baked-potato gave yellow-green color indicating low level of sugar present in the
food. Here glucose and water were used as controls. The cabbage salad gave yellow color
too indicating low level of simple sugar present in the food

For the Iodine test for starch – Water was the negative control, it remained yellow. Baked
potato was positive control and it turned black color. Moreover, vegetable oil, egg and
glucose samples turned yellow. Apple sample turned brown color, bread and Alice’s
salad turned dark blue color and milk turned white color. Yellow indicates absence of
starch and dark blue/black indicate significant amount of starch. Therefore, the cabbage
salad contains good amount of starch. Iodine appears brown at very low levels of starch

For the Biuret experiment for protein - The positive control was the sample with egg and
biuret agent, it turned deep purple. Bread and baked potato sampled gave pale purple and
milk sample turned purple. Glucose, apple and vegetable oil turned blue while the
negative control water too turned blue. Alice’s salad turned blue indicating absence of
protein. Deep purple indicates good amount of protein, pale purple indicates some
amount of protein and blue color indicates no protein.

For the test with Sudan IV reagent to test the presence of lipid, vegetable oil was the
positive control and water the negative control. Vegetable oil has two layers at the top,
top most orange layer and below was white layer. The second layer is almost whitish.
The negative control has only one layer , red at the top. The other test tubes with milk and

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egg turned orange and had two layers. Samples of glucose, apple, bread, baked potato and
the cabbage salad showed red layer. Red layer indicates absence of lipid.

I did not expect to observe, in the test with Sudan IV reagent, tube is filled up with water
using a micropipette. Pipette was asked to be kept back in the holder with the micro tip
on. I tried to dispose off tip, but simulation did not allow. This goes against good
practices in lab theory. In Sudan IV test, the simulation could not show the two separate
layers, which was also not expected.

8. Which parts of the lab required you to think more than others and required more time? Which parts
were simple and completed easily?

Parts of lab that required more time and thought – The four experiments took time and
thought as it required careful setup of the workbench and adding of reagents. Certain tests
needed boiling of the test tubes while certain other tests needed mixing in vortex. To read
the tests, make sure the controls are handled well and to enter in the results are important
time consuming and thoughtful process. It also takes thought to read the table after all the
results are entered in order to see if the hypothesis were true.

Parts of lab that were comparatively easy and straightforward- To get ready for the lab by
using the lab dress code and following good lab practice methods.
Observations
Many lessons learned from scientific research come from the reporting and analysis of data and
observations. This part of scientific reporting requires detailed descriptions of technical information and
observations, as well as high-level synthesis of information. High-level synthesis requires a mastery of
foundational content in the related scientific field and a complementary mastery in some field of
quantitative and/or qualitative analysis. For this report, let’s focus on big picture patterns.
9. What did you notice about the phenomenon or process you explored?
Benedict's reagent is a chemical used to test for the presence of glucose in food. However, it
cannot detect sucrose. The test involves heating a sample and observing any color changes. If
the color changes from blue to orange or red, the food sample contains high levels of simple
sugars such as glucose, maltose, and fructose. On the other hand, yellow and green colors
represent a low sugar content, while blue indicates a lack of simple sugars in the food
sample.
The iodine reagent reacts with a specific part of the starch molecule, resulting in a dark
bluish-black color. Foods high in starch, like potatoes, contain this component and appear
dark. Foods without complex carbohydrates appear yellowish. Iodine appears brown with
low levels of starch.
Biuret reagent is used to test for the presence of protein, which changes the color from blue
to dark purple upon a positive result. An egg is a positive control for this experiment due to
its high protein content, while water is a negative control and will only exhibit a blue color.
Pale yellow shows low level of protein in food and dark purple shows high level of protein
present.
To detect lipids, a red dye called Sudan IV is used. The dye is applied to a mixture of lipids
and water, causing it to move into the lipid layer (top layer) and turn it reddish-orange. The

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positive result is from two criteria, one that there are two layers for the resultant liquid and
the other one that at the top is red. A negative result will only exhibit one layer. If sample
doesn’t contain lipids, the Sudan IV will form small micelles and disperse throughout the
solution.

10. Describe any information about the phenomenon or process that you learned.
In all four experiment, small amounts of reagents are only needed. Micropipettes are used for
that purpose.
It is not added to the raw food i.e. to the cabbage salad itself but on a sample in a test tube
made from the food. Water is added into this sample and water doesn’t have any effect on
any of these experiments at any step.
It is important to use distilled water as any tap water can contain any other contaminants that
can interfere with the experiment and can give incorrect results.
It is important to add the same amount of water in all test tubes so that the concentration of
the original food sample is maintained. If the concentration varies, it can produce a different
color at the end of the experiment which will result in incorrect reading of the result.
With the Benedict’s reagent to detect the presence of simple sugars, the principle behind is
the reduction of copper ions in the reagent by reducing sugars. The presence of reducing
sugars causes the copper ions to be reduced, forming a colored precipitate. The more
reducing sugars present, the greater the reduction of copper ions and the more intense the
color of the precipitate. This needs significant amount of kinetic energy and that is why the
test solution is boiled for 5 minutes.
In Iodine test for complex sugars, Iodine reagent is used. Iodine by itself doesn’t mix with
water and it is made into a reagent by using potassium iodide. Amylose in starch is
responsible for the formation of a deep blue color in the presence of iodine. The iodine
molecule slips inside of the amylose coil to give this color.
In the Biuret reagent, the compound Biuret is not actually used. Alkaline copper sulfate
(CuSO4) solution is used as the Biuret reagent. It is blue in color due to the color of CuSO4.
The reaction in the biuret test is a colorimetric reaction where the result is indicated by a
color change from blue to purple or violet. In an alkaline environment, the cupric (Cu+2)
ions in the biuret reagent bind to the nitrogen atoms in the peptide bonds of proteins forming
a violet-colored copper coordination complex.
The intensity of the purple color depends on the concentration of peptide bonds directly
proportionally.
Sudan IV is one of the dyes used for Sudan staining. Staining is an important biochemical
technique, offering the ability to visually qualify the presence of the fatty compound of
interest without isolating it.

Discussion
The discussion section is used to explain why things might have happened the way that they did in your
research. Here, scientists describe any potential anomalies or mistakes and why they think they may
have occurred.
11. During your lab, what happened that might have had an impact on the accuracy of your
observations? Did the simulation alert you that an error was occurring? If so, how did you resolve it?

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There are various factors that can highly impact on successful completing of this experiment
1. Usage of distilled water. If water is not distilled, there can be presence of unwanted
elements that can bring up incorrect answers.
2. The set up itself that includes how much of water is added to each sample to dilute it,
how much of reagent is added etc. As the intensity of the final color depend directly on
the concentration, diluting the food sample should be done correctly. Too much of
reagent may result in no color change at all.
3. For Benedict’s reagent if the reagent with food sample is not boiled for enough amount of
time, the accuracy of the result will be doubtful as they need some amount of kinetic
energy to bring up the reaction that provides the color.
4. These reagents should be handled with precaution and by following the lab dress code as
they are very reactive to humans as well as to the environment.
5. Care should be given while manually entering the result in the biochemistry test result
chart.
The simulation did not alert about anything going wrong throughout the experiment.
12. The discussion section also is used to summarize big ideas from the lab. What were the important
learnings about the phenomenon or process from the lab?

The experiments help to identify the composition of the food that one is eating and helps the
person to understand more about their diet, to know if it is healthy or not and to change it
accordingly.
Benedicts reagent test can help in analyzing if simple sugars are present in an unknown
food / chemical composition, to detect simple sugar in urine to see if they are diabetic and in
quality control of simple sugar production
Biuret test can help in identifying protein in an unknown food / chemical composition, urine,
csf and in any other body fluid. It is also used to identify proteinaceous adulterants in non-
protein products.
Sudan IV test can be used to measure the level of fecal fat for the diagnosis of steatorrhea, to
stain chromosomes, golgi apparatus, leukocytes and many cell organelles in laboratory
procedures.
The iodine test is a technique used to detect complex carbohydrates in food-based research
labs, beer brewing companies, and industries. A negative Iodine test result confirms that all
the starch has been converted into sugars and the brewing process is complete.
Conclusion
The conclusion section of a lab report describes how the learnings from the lab research fit in to prior
scientific knowledge. This is done by comparing new information to previously known information that was
identified in the section of your report that discusses background information.
Review the background information section of your report from above and describe how the results of
your lab compare to the information you discussed before.

13. After scientists have identified how the new knowledge fits into the old knowledge, they discuss the
implications of the new information for moving forward. In this class, the purpose of study is to learn

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some foundational science ideas represented by the course learning outcomes. Review the course
learning outcome aligned to this lab in the assignment directions in Blackboard. How is the
information from this lab related to the course learning outcome? What knowledge has the lab
supported you with learning that is related to this course learning outcome?

I was able to understand the concepts of foundational chemistry in relation to

macromolecules present in the food composition. Macromolecules are large molecules
created by polymerization of monomers. Therefore, macromolecules are polymers. The
different type of macromolecules are carbohydrates, proteins, lipids and nucleic acids. All
except lipid are polymers.
Carbohydrates can be divided into monosaccharide (single sugar molecule eg: glucose),
disaccharide (two sugar molecule) and polysaccharide (more than two sugar molecule).
Oligomers are made of a few monomers, for eg. Dimers and trimers. Oligomers are formed
by non-covalent bonding between macromolecules like nucleic acids or proteins. This
happening in neurodegenerative diseases like Parkinson’s where alpha-synuclein aggregation
happens. Detecting this oligomer would help in diagnosing the condition. Simple sugars can
be found in food like cookies, cakes, candies, bread and rice. High intake of such food will
result in weight gain, type 2 diabetes and other heart conditions. Certain fruits too contain
simple sugars naturally but they contain other micro ingredients like vitamins and minerals
needed for the body. So, consuming fruits in moderation is good. Carbohydrate are important
sources of energy and structural material for organisms. Grains, fruits and vegetables are
important source of carbohydrate. These foods contain both soluble and insoluble (ie fiber
eg: cellulose) carbohydrate. Dietary fiber is polysaccharide. Humans cannot digest it and it
promotes defecation, removes excess cholesterol, promotes feeling of fullness. This is
obtained from whole grains, fruits, vegetables, legumes and nuts. Starch is a complex
carbohydrate and it is found in food like baked potato. Starch is a polymer. Glucose
monomers can be joined by 1-6 linkages in starch. There are two types of starch.
Amylopectin which is branched and amylose which is unbranched. Starch is alpha glucose
and is a straight chain. Humans can easily digest them. Too much consumption is bad for
health.
Cellulose is also a complex carbohydrate and a polymer of glucose. Cellulose is beta glucose
and is a helical chain. Humans cannot digest cellulose. Cellulose is plant based insoluble
fiber that help in good bowel movement. There are other insoluble fiber present in brown
rice, whole wheat bread etc.
Proteins are made of different construction of 20 amino acids. These amino acids are
connected by peptide bonds and form a polypeptide. A functional protein is not just an
individual polypeptide but the polypeptides fold into a unique molecular shape. The protein
structure defines its function. Proteins have at least three structures. Primary, secondary and
tertiary structure. Primary structure is the polypeptide sequence. Secondary structure consists
of alpha-helix coils and beta sheet folds that result from hydrogen bonds between oxygen and
hydrogen. Tertiary structure is the overall shape of the polypeptide resulting from all of the
interactions between the side chains of various amino acids. A quaternary structure is
possible when protein consists of two or more polypeptide chains.

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Lipids refer to a group of water insoluble, non-polar compounds. Lipids include fats,
phospholipids, waxes, sterols etc. The major function is to store energy, mobilization and
utilization. Lipid include fat which is also known as triglyceride, 3 fatty acid molecules
joined by an ester linkage between a hydroxyl and carboxyl group. Fats are made of fatty
acids and based on the type of fatty acid, fats can be saturated and unsaturated. Trans fat is
formed by the hydrogenation of unsaturated fat to saturated fat. Essential fatty acids are fatty
acids required by the body but not produced in the body. It has to be in the diet. For eg:
Omega 6 and Omega 3 fatty acid.
14. Following scientific research, scientists usually come up with new questions that result from what they
learned. These new questions often end up leading to new research in the future. What additional
scientific things do you wonder about after completing and writing about your lab experience?

There are a few questions that come to my mind. They are –

 In all these experiments, the presence of a certain chemical may hinder its normal expected
route of action and this can throw the scientist off of the usual track
 All the tests only tell the presence of a particular macromolecule but not the exact
concentration or the kind of macromolecule. For that, further tests need to be done by the
scientist.
 How can the positive and negative control be fully trusted? Should there be extra steps to
make sure that the negative and positive is showing it right.
 Iodine test is not reliable as there is a tendency that the color can disappear at higher
temperature. How can one make sure that the experiment is staying within the right
temperatures. If there is a reaction that gives out heat, that can give false results.
 I fell there needs to be confirmatory tests following such initial tests to make conclusions.

References
Dahal, P. (2023, April 16). Microbe Notes. https://microbenotes.com/category/biochemistry/

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