Tuesday, 19 February 2013

Biological Molecules & Food Lab

1. Of the 3 tests that we did, many of the food items had positive results. For the lipids (fat) test, it was clear when the result was positive because the paper had a grease stain. The food products that had a positive result for the lipid test were butter and the cupcake. For the starch test, a positive result was evident when the food turned black. The bread and the cupcake were the clear winners of this result. Lastly the simple sugars (glucose) test. A postive result was shown when the benedict solution (copperIIsulphate) turned yellow/orange in the orange and apple.

2.



The building blocks of the starch molecule are made of glucose.

3. I think the reason that all the results turned positive after the extra two minutes in Josh and Thomas's lab is because the carbohydrate molecules finally got the additional time that they needed to break apart, releasing the simple sugars (glucose).

4. The life of a pear: The food begins its journey starting with the mouth where mechanical and chemical digestion is introduced. Our teeth break down the food into smaller pieces as our salivary glands secrete saliva; breaking down the food (salivary amylase) through chemical digestion. While all this is occurring, the tongue moves the bolus (chewed food) to the back of the mouth to swallow. The bolus then travels through the pharynx into our esophagus (thanks to peristalsis) where it soon meets the cardiac sphincter. But sometimes the epiglottis forgets to close itself when we are swallowing and the bolus goes into our trachea instead. Which results in choking - uh oh! Now going back to the cardiac sphincter, this muscular valve allows the bolus to enter the stomach. The bolus is now called 'chyme'. As food passes into our stomach, it expands. The food travels through the pyloric sphincter into the duodenum. The liver, pancreas, and gall bladder are accessory organs. The liver receives all the blood returning from the digestive tract and processes protein, fats, and carbohydrates. It also produces bile, which emulsifies fats into the small intestine to aid in their digestion. Bile is stored into the gall bladder. Sodium bicarbonate (produced by the pancreas) neutralizes the chyme entering the small intestine from the stomach. The food in the small intestine is mixed around by the villi. Digestion and absorption of nutrients are complete by the time the contents reach the end of the small intestine. The large intestine absorbs most of the remaining water and compacts the residual matter as feces. The waste then enters the rectum and exits through the anus.

Monday, 4 February 2013

Video Response: Real or Fake?

After watching this video we realized that it is debatable if the video was true or not. However, we came to the conclusion that the video is fake. The water molecules could not simply hold together according to the shape of the glass because of the force of gravity. As in the penny lab, we were able to analyze that when the water molecules increased, they were eventually unable to withstand gravity.

Why Bio?

Believe it or not, I took Biology because it was an academic... probably not the best reason but hey it's better than taking Pre-Calculus! I'm don't like sciences nor am I going into sciences in the future but ironically I am really interested in learning about the human body. Plus, I do find biology one of the easier sciences compared to Physics! In grade 8 we didn't go into depth about the functions of the numerous systems in our body and I'm really looking forward to learn more about how our body is able to do the miraculous things it does! My question is: (it may seem silly or obvious, but I don't have a clue to what the answer is!) why does our heart start to beat fast when we are nervous or scared?