Testing for the Major Components In Food

Abstract – The aim of this experiment was to investigate whether or not certain foods contained the different food groups. If it turned black that meant it had starch, if it turned red that meant it had glucose, if it turned purple it meant it had protein and if it turned clear/transparent it had fat.

The equipment used was vegetable oil, pallet, pipette, starch, glucose, albumin, iodine solution, and Benedict’s solution and copper sulphate solution. The method was simple, mixing each type of food with the food group to see if it would change colour and if it contained this food group, for example if iodine was added to starch and its colour changed it will have contained iodine in it.

Introduction – All the processes of life require energy, and this energy comes from food groups. Carbohydrates provide energy for movement and this is made up of carbon, hydrogen and sugar. It is found in cereals and pasta. Proteins are used to assist growth and repair for the body it is made up of amino acids and is found in meat and fish. Fats are used to provide a concentrated source of energy and to insulate the body in cold temperatures. Saturated fats are obtained from animals such as meat; however polyunsaturated fat comes from vegetables.

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Vitamins are necessary in small amounts for growth however different vitamins have different functions; vitamin A is required to give good vision and it is from vegetables such as carrots. Vitamin B releases energy from food and it is obtained from milk and bread. Vitamin C gives healthy skin and this is from oranges and other fruits. Vitamin D helps to absorb calcium and this comes from margarine and oily fish.

The digestive system has two main functions, one of them is to convert food into nutrients in what the body requires, the other functions is to remove any waste which may be in the body.

Method - Starch test: First collect the food sample (liquid) and add a few drops of iodine solution (yellow/brown) and then check if the colour changes from yellow/brown to blue black ink then it will contain starch.

Fat test: We collected the food sample and we put it on a piece of paper and if it went through it contains fat.

Protein test: After we collected the food samples which were liquid in a test tube and added 5 drops of copper sulphate and 5 drops of sodium hydroxide and if the colour changes from blue to purple then the food sample does contain protein.

Sugar : First collect the food samples in a test tube and add a few drops of benedicts solution. Then place the test tube in a boiling water bath. If the colour changes from blue to green and then to orange to red the sample contains sugar. The colour changes depending on the concentration of the sample.

(P6) The body requires all the nutrients to remain healthy however different people will need a different variety and portion size compared to others, for example athletes will need a high diet in carbohydrates and meat because they need it to release energy and strengthen their bones more than an office worker would need it, however an office worker will need a lot of vitamin A because it spends its time on the computer working and this can damage their eyes.

If a person ate too much of the food groups then that person will have become over nourished and if that isn’t worked off then the body will become fatter and overweight, too much fatty foods and oils cause this.

However if a person ate too less of the food groups then that person will become under nourished which means that the body will become skinny and underweight. This is caused due to a lack of diet.

If a person ate too less of vitamin A then the eyes will have problems seeing at night however if it was too less vitamin C then the mouth will become affected and it will develop scurvy.

The body has different enzymes which digest the different food groups - Protease is the enzyme which attains to the breakdown of protein, Lipase is the enzyme which attains to the breakdown of fat and amylase is the enzyme which attains to the breakdown of starch.

Method – Mixing each of the food groups into the different test such as iodine test to see if it has this substance in it.

Other enzymes such as Maltase digests maltose to glucose, Lactase digests lactose to glucose and galactose, Sucrose digests sucrose to glucose and fructose.

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