Unit 2 Reflection

Unit 2 was largely about different types of macromolecules and how they are essential for life. The main types are carbohydrates, lipids, nucleic acids and proteins. Each serve a different functions necessary for life to exist. Carbohydrates are a macromolocule made of rings of glucose, used primarily for energy and sometimes for structure. We learned about carbohydrates and their structure in the sweetness lab. Lipids are another macromolecule that makes up oils, waxes, and fats. It is made of a charged head and a fatty acid tail. Organisms use lipids for energy storage and cell structure. Nucleic acids are polymers made up of nucleotides. Nucleic acids make up DNA and RNA. Without these, life could not exist. Proteins are made of amino acids, and make up muscles, hair, bones, and parts of cells. Proteins also make up enzymes. Enzymes are a type of biological catalyst that speeds up chemical reactions inside the body by lowering activation energy. We learned about enzymes and how they were affected by factors such as pH and temperature in the virtual enzyme lab and in the cheese lab.

Another important thing we learned was how molecules interacted with each other through bonds and such. The reason water molecules can bond with each other is because of polarity.  This means that water has an unequal charge, meaning that one side of the molecule in positively charged while the other side in negatively charged. This allows water to be attracted to itself, a force called cohesion, as well as many other molecules in adhesion. 

Something that was hard for me to understand solely through the vodcasts and  chapter notes were the enzymes and how they worked. Doing the labs in class helped me understand them and how they worked. I think I also benefited from the collaborative setting, because if I was unsure or did not understand something, the people in my group could help me.

Something that I learned from this unit is how to have better lab procedure. Especially in the cheese lab, many people, including our group, did not follow the specific instructions and the outcome was a messy lab that may have not yielded accurate results. Now we know to follow directions better to have a lab that is easier and more productive. I was also able to handle the class and homework better in this unit by learning how to manage my time better and get things done more efficiently. 

Some things I would like to learn more about are enzyme structure, and more about how they work. I found the experiments we did with enzymes interesting and relevant. They exist in everyday items and are present in our own bodies and have a huge effect. 

Sweet lab

Generally speaking, monosaccharides and disaccharides are usually sweeter than polysaccharides. All of the monosaccharides and disaccharides were rated significantly sweeter than both the polysaccharides. Both of the polysaccharides were given very low sweetness ratings by all members of the group, while most of the monosaccharides and disaccharides were given fairly high sweetness ratings, proving that monosaccharides and disaccharides are sweeter than polysaccharides.

The shape of carbohydrates may affect the way organisms use them. For example, carbs with either one or two rings of glucose may be primarily used for energy because they are simple and easy to break down. Polysaccharides, or carbs with three or more rings may be used for structural support in addition to energy.

All the testers in this lab did not give each carbohydrate the same sweetness rating. This may be because everyone is different and people may have different opinions. Some people also have differing taste buds, some being more sensitive to sweetness than others People from different places evolved to taste things differently. This is another reason why tasters may have ranked the samples differently. Our brains detect sweetness in the first place by using the taste detecting cells and taste transmitters in out tongues and brains.  

Biology Collage

Jean Lab

In this lab, we answered the question, what is the best concentration of bleach to fade the color of new jeans with the least fabric damage. We found that 100% bleach gave the best color removal with relatively little fabric damage. There was an average of 8.5 color removal and an average damage of just 3.6. Just looking at the jeans squares, the color removal was immediately noticeable and extreme, while the damage was nearly unnoticeable. This data supports our claim that 100% bleach is the most effective, because it had more than twice the color removal as some of the other data samples. This would make sense, because bleach has color removing power, so the more bleach the more color removal. 

While our hypothesis is supported by the data, there could have been errors due to the fact that the jeans samples we used in the test were not consistent. For one specific test, we sometimes used up to three different jeans samples, making hard to judge the effectiveness of the color removal and the compare the damage. This made the data inconsistent and possibly inaccurate. Also, our timing was not always completely accurate, often being off by a few seconds. This may have affected the results by making the tests inconsistent. In future labs, this would be an easy fix. To fix, just make sure you use fabric all from the same jeans and keep everything that is not the independent variable consistent. 

This lab was done to demonstrate how bleach can affect the color of jeans and to teach us proper lab procedures. The procedure can be adjusted to give more accurate results by stating that all jeans used in the same test have to be the same and by giving students more time to complete the lab. The procedure used in this lab followed the scientific method and the procedures for labs we learned in the vodcasts. By doing this lab, I expanded my knowledge of lab procedures and was able to practice carrying out a real lab. This will help me in every lab going forward, because lab procedure is a skill used for any science lab.