LABORATORY 2: The Molecules of Life - Biochemistry

Learning Objectives:

1. Recognize the 4 main classes of biological molecules.
2. Describe reducing sugars and discuss how to test if a compound is a reducing sugar. Explain what functional group produces sugars.
3. Perform a simple polymerization between glucose diagrams
4. Explain α glucose 1-6 bonds and α glucose 1-4 bonds and where you would expect to find them.
5. Use iodine to demonstrate the presence and absence of starch.
6. Describe the parts of a fat and differentiate between fats and phospholipids.
7. Demonstrate the solubility of fats in water and ether. Explain the differences observed.
8. Describe the main components of proteins.
9. Observe the effect of temperature on enzyme action.

There are four major classes of biologically important organic compounds: Carbohydrates, Lipids, Proteins and Nucleic acids. Each of these four major classes has specific and important functions within the living cell.

Laboratory 2 Topics: Carbohydrates Exercise 1 - Benedict's Test for Reducing Sugars Exercise 2 - Glucose Polymerization Exercise 3 - Test for starch Lipids Exercise 4 - Solubility of Fats Proteins Enzymes Exercise 5 - Effect of Temperature on Enzyme Activity Nucleic acids

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