Showing posts with label Lab. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Lab. Show all posts
Friday, September 16, 2016
Sweetness Lab
 |
| Three types of saccharides we used in this lab - Poly, Di, and Mono saccharides |
In this lab we answered the question, "How does the structure of a carbohydrate affect its taste(sweetness)? After testing the sugars sucrose, glucose, fructose, galactose, maltose, lactose, starch and cellulose, we found that the monosaccharides (Glucose, Fructose, Galactose) were sweetest type of carbohydrate, while disaccharides came in second, and polysaccharides came in third and last place. This is supported by our observations as the average score for the monosaccharides on a scale of 0 to 200 was 155, while the average score for disaccharides was 70, and the average score for polysaccharides was 15. It is corroborated by our research, as the one molecule in monosaccharides make them sweeter than the 2 or more in poly and disaccharides. Monosaccharides are also used in sweet foods and drinks such as milk and sweet fruits.
Monosaccharides and Disaccharides are used mostly for immediate energy in cells and organisms due to their 1 or 2 molecule structure, while Polysaccharides are converted into energy for later use. The longer the carbohydrate is, the more energy it has. Plants use the ones with more energy for long term use, while they use the lesser energy carbohydrates for immediate energy.
No, all testers did not give each sample the same exact rating, for these three reasons.
- Everybody has their own opinion about certain types of tastes. Some people are generous raters while others are very strict.
- Everyone has different taste buds, and they taste things differently. Some have a preference for bitterness or sweetness which might cloud their rating judgment.
- People might take in a bit more of a sample than others cause them to like it more or less. For example, if you taste a lot of something bitter and you don't like it, you will give it a worse rating than someone who tasted very little of it. And vice versa for sweet samples.
According to the National Library of Medicine, the tongue uses its taste buds to sense the foods, and transports the information directly to the brain, which tells us how the food tastes. Our sense of taste used to be a matter of survival, which could tell us if plants were poisonous or edible, but now it is just a matter of what our taste buds enjoy eating. Everybody has different taste buds which might cause them to think that a food is more salty and savory, that sweet and sour. This is another reason to explain why all of the tasters ranked each sample differently, though they all got similar results.
Tuesday, September 6, 2016
Jean Lab Conclusion
Jean Lab
1st Lab for Scientific Method
Different Text Colors Used to Indicate Different %'s of Bleach in Data Results
The data table is listed below, with the final scores on the side. If you add the final scores for each concentration % respectfully, you will get the final rankings.
Concentration of Bleach (%)
|
Color Removal
|
Average
|
Score
| ||
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
5
|
12.5
|
3
|
3
|
3
|
3
|
3
|
25
|
2
|
2
|
4
|
2.66
|
4
|
50
|
4
|
4
|
3
|
3.66
|
2
|
100
|
8
|
6
|
3
|
5.66
|
1
|
Concentration of Bleach (%)
|
Fabric Damage
|
Average
|
Score
| ||
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
1
|
12.5
|
3
|
3
|
2
|
2.33
|
3
|
25
|
5
|
6
|
7
|
6
|
5
|
50
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
2
|
100
|
4
|
3
|
2
|
3
|
4
|
Our lab data contradicts the expected result of 12.5% percent being the most effective solution, mainly because of the pre-conditions to our denim jean materials. While setting up the lab, and following the procedure which we were given by our supervisor, Mr. Orre, we cut out squares from many different pairs of denim jeans, which all varies in color, as well as previous fabric damage. The experiment only exasperated both the color removal and the fabric damage of all the jeans. Because out procedure specifically told out us rate the color removal and fabric damage based on a general scale, rating the fabric damage solely on the appearance of the end product, instead of rating the effectiveness the bleach had on each square of denim, our results varied and contradicted the highly anticipated standard norm. While our hypothesis was greatly supported by our data, there could have been another possible error due to the size of the cut squares. Because of the tools we were provided with (scissors) it made the task of cutting perfect squares from ragged denim jeans extremely difficult. Our squares were not perfectly cut or sized, as most of them were ragged in the corners and varied in sizes. The sizes never varied more than a 1/2 inch, so it is not very likely that this created a huge effect or impact, but nevertheless, because of the varying size and shape, some of the denim squares may have absorbed more or less of the concentration in the 10 minutes, ergo creating another possible error that may justify the unexpected results we received. In conclusion, each of these two errors could have affected our results in drastic ways. The first possible error, because of the pre-given squares and the differences in color removal and fabric damage, caused our lab results to get thrown off, as some of the squares ended with more/less color removal and more/less fabric damage, entirely because they started our with different amounts of color and fabric damage. The second possible error, could also have accounted for our unexpected results, as different sizes and shapes could have absorbed different amounts of the bleach solutions, thus reducing the reliability and effectiveness of each bleach test. Due to these errors, in future experiments, I would recommend having a broader procedure, or letting the kid scientists choose procedures themselves, thus allowing them to account for any possible experimental errors in advance, before setting a procedure in stone. Another recommendation I would make for future experiments, is to have the exact same type of material for each group, or for each group to have their own materials set. For example, in this experiment multiple groups cut squares from many different jeans. In the future, we could assign one jean per table group, thus allowing tables to judge the effectiveness of the bleach based of the original color and fabric damage, rather than on a standard scale of 1 to 10.
This lab was primarily done to demonstrate understanding of basic science and biology practice,s including, but not limited to, the scientific method, conclusion writing practices, blog posts, following a procedure, accounting for errors, and most importantly, (in my opinion) working in conjunction with a group of other biologists, and sharing views while reflecting on the experiment. Although this lab was intended to solely give us an understanding of the way things will work in the biology classroom, and to get used to the lab setting and lab rules/parts, I felt like I improved in being in overall scientist as well. My group and I had to constantly be at the top of our game during class, as we were on a tight schedule to complete the experiment given our allotted class time. I felt we worked very well together, and succeed under pressure, ultimately completing the experiment and having an awesome time in the process. From this lab I learned the process of analyzing data and accounting for errors and applications, which really helped me relate to the concept of the conclusion writing format. In addition, I was also able to solidify my learning of the scientific method, and understand how to follow a given procedure to the fullest extent possible. Based on my experiences in the lab, I could now easily device and run a good science experiment, gathering, analyzing and concluding data. Anther situation that we could apply our learning in this lab to a research study. We now know the basics of writing summaries and conclusions for scientific experiments with lots of data, which gives us the basic building blocks and foundation to analyze bigger experiments such as research studies or surveys.
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