4.

1 Biological molecules

•• List the chemical elements that make up:

– carbohydrates
– fats
– proteins
Nutrients : organisms require food for

 Providing energy for the vital activities of the body

 Synthesize new protoplasm for growth and repair of worn out parts of the body and for
reproduction.
 Maintain health and fight against diseases.
 Nutrients are the substances in food that provide for cell development, growth and
repair.

Carbohydrates

Carbohydrates are the main sources of energy for organisms. Carbohydrates are used as energy
reserves in plants and animals. Example starch and glycogen. The elements present in
carbohydrates are carbon, hydrogen and oxygen. The general formula for glucose is C 6H12O6.

Functions of carbohydrates

 Main source of energy

 Cellulose which make upthe cell walls of plants. Dietary fibre.
 Excess carbohydrates (starch) are stored as glycogen in liver and muscle. They also
stored as fats under skin.
Monosaccharides= 1 sugar

Disaccharides = 2 sugar

Polysacharides= more than 2(100 of sugars)

Glucose (reducing sugar)

a. add 2 ml of Benedicts reagent in dry test tube.

b. add 2ml of the test solution ( glucose powder, starch powder midex in water)
c. heat the mixture for 2-3 minutes in a boiling water bath.
d. if glucose present the colur changes from blue to green, yellow, oragne and red.
e. if glucose absent the colour remains blue (benedicts reagent colour is blue colour.)

Starch;
a. Add a few drops of iodine solution to rice powder, glucose powder, milk powder.
b. Gently mix the mixture of iodine solultion and the powder.
c. if colour remains brown : starch is absent.
d. if colour changes from blue black colour: starch is present.
Proteins: are larger molecules composed of simple chemicals called amino acids joined
together by peptide bonds. The elements present in proteins are carbon, hydrogen, oxygen and
nitrogen, sulphur sometimes phosphorus. Hundreds of amino acids has to joined to make a
different protein.

Importance of proteins:

 Making and new body cells

 Growth and repair
 Making enzymes
 Making antibodies
 Build up hormones.
 Making haemoglobin.
There are abouit f20 different amino acids in animals proteins (including alanine, leucine,
valine, glutamine, cysteine, glycine and lysine.).

Each type of protein has its amino acids arranged in a particular sequence. The chain of amino
acids in a protein takes up a particular shape as a result of cross-linkages. Heating above 50°C
the cross-linkages in its molecules break down; the protein molecules lose their shape. The
protein is said to have been denatured.

Protein test (the biuret test- the ready mixed reagent , potassium hydroxide and copper
sulphate solution called biuret reagent).
a. Take a dry test tube and place a food sample in a test tube.
b. Add potassium hydroxide solution to cover the food.
c. Add few drops of copper sulphate solution.
d. shake the tube gently if purple colour present then protein is present. If colur stays blue then
there is no protein in the food.
 Fat test

Principle: Fat will not dissolve in water but dissolve in ethanol.

Shake the food up in ethanol, if any fat present dissolves in the ethanol.

Now you add some water in dissolved fat.

The fat forms tiny droplets which float around in the water, making an emulsion. The emulsion
looks a creamy white colour.

Requirements:

Samples of five kinds of food.,

A tile or dish on which you can put the foods.

A knife or pestle and mortar.

Five clean and completely dry test tubes, and five more clean test tubes.

Ethanol and a dropper pipette.

Distilled water

Procedure:

Chop or crush a small sample of each of the five kinds of food, taking care to keep them
separate from one another.

Put one of the food samples into a dry test tube, and add absolute ethanol. Shake the food up
in the ethanol, so that any fat in the food has a chance to dissolve.

Then put the tube in the rack and leave it to settle while you repeat this step with the other
four foods.
Add equal quantity of distilled water.

If fat present in the food then the water will go milky white when you pour the ethanol into it.

If there was no fat, then it will stay clear.

Vitamin test:

Water