BIO 101 Lab 02: Chemistry. Introduction to macromolecules, organic molecules abundant in living systems.
Notification: If you have a disability that makes it difficult to complete this lab, please contact your instructor. Please provide your instructor a copy of the Memorandum of Accommodation (MOA) from NVCC Disability Support Services.
Objectives:
• Describe the basic structures and properties of monomers and polymers of carbohydrates, proteins and lipids.
• Identify reagents and positive test results for simple sugar, starch, proteins and lipids
• Explain how to determine nutritional components of foods based on biochemical analysis
Background:
All of chemistry is divided into two sections: organic chemistry and inorganic chemistry. Basically, organic chemistry deals with carbon compounds and inorganic chemistry is everything else. Organic compounds come in many different forms, in this lab we will analyze three of them: carbohydrates, lipids, and proteins. Each of these classes is vital to living things. Each also contains numerous different chemicals of various levels of complexity.
Carbohydrates
Carbohydrates are organic molecules consisting of only carbon, oxygen and hydrogen atoms bonded together. Carbohydrates are energy molecules. They are the fuel that our bodies burn to maintain life. Sugars containing one glucose-like molecule are called monosaccharides from Greek and Latin words meaning “one sugar”. Similarly sugars containing two glucose-like molecules are called disaccharides meaning “two sugars”. Starches are composed of many of these small sugar molecules joined together and are technically called polysaccharides (“many sugars”).
In a more general sense the glucose-like molecules can be considered monomers – “one part” – and the long chains polymers – “many parts”. Therefore starch is a polymer, and so are most of the other organic molecules we will be looking at in this lab.
