Alexa Wells

Partners: Jasmine Rodriguez, Nayeli Burciaga, and Jaheem Nowlin

Ms. Dalya Almansour, Chemistry
02/07/18
Protein Lab Report
State Problem/ Purpose:
This “protein lab” was one of the four experiments done, one was done for each “broad class of
macromolecules”. A macromolecule is “a large molecule created by a form of polymerization, or the
process of creating polymer chains out of polymeric materials”, the four essential macromolecules to live
are protein, fats, nucleic acids (RNA/DNA), and carbohydrates. So, the experiments for each one was to
identify the presence of the different macromolecules in everyday food.

Introduction Paragraph:
Before going into how the protein experiment went, what is protein? Protein is a chain of peptide
bonds, two amino acids that came together to form this bond. So, in order to know if there is a presence of
protein, Biuret Reagent is used since it contains copper ions (with a charge of +2) that reduce to a charge
of +1 in the presence of peptide bonds. When the charge is reduced, the color of this indicator liquid
changes from blue to violet or black, if protein is present in the food item.

Amino Acid: Peptide Bond: Protein:

We want to test for the presence of protein in different foods because it is an important part of our
life, it makes up our hair/nails, builds/repairs tissue, it’s an “​important building block of bones, muscles,
cartilage, skin, and blood”,​ it also makes enzymes, hormones, and other body chemicals. Without protein
we can develop protein deficiencies, like marasmus (“​an absolute food deprivation with grossly
inadequate amounts of both energy and protein”)​. Having this type of deficiency can give a child a “skin
and bones” appearance due to starvation, can lead to “gastroenteritis and deterioration of the lining of the
gastrointestinal tract”, and can result in death. So we should be eating more of the “healthy protein
foods”, which are seafood, white-meat poultry, milk, cheese, yogurt, eggs, beans, soy, lean beef, and pork
tenderloin.

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Hypothesis:
Hypotheses were made of whether each of the food items would turn black/violet or stay the same
color, with an explanation of why they came to this hypothesis...
Food Item: Hypothesis:

Water It will not turn black with the solution because water doesn’t consist of many
elements just hydrogen and oxygen

Banana It will turn black since it’s a natural and healthy fruit, so it’ll have a good kind
of protein

Milk It will turn black since it provided many nutrients for us as kids

Apple Juice It won’t turn black because it consists of more carbs than protein

Eggs It will turn black since they’re usually used in protein shakes

Lemonade It won’t turn black because it’s more carbs than protein

Fava Beans It will since beans and legumes do have protein

Materials Used​:
Lab Equipment Needed: Foods Experimented With:
● Biuret Reagent Solution ● Water
● Pipette (pour 10 drops of the solution) ● Banana
● Gloves ● Milk
● 7 Test Tubes (one for each food) ● Apple Juice
● Post-it’s (label each test tube with the food that ● Eggs
was experimented on) ● Lemonade
● Stirs (to stir food and solution) ● Fava Beans
● Napkins
● Plastic Knives

Procedure:​
1. Follow safety procedures: gloves on at all times, tie hair up, and no inhaling the solution
2. Fill one test tube halfway with a food item and be sure to label it
3. Add ten drops of the Biuret Reagent solution with pipette, to the test tube with the food item
4. Wait for about 5 mins, then observe and record the result/color change
5. Repeat with each food item

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Data/Results/Observations:
As mentioned before, if the Biuret Reagent solution changes the food’s color into violet/black it
does have protein. If it doesn’t change color, or is just a darker shade of the food it doesn’t have protein.
The chart below were the observations made during each protein test and the results that were indicated
by those observations.
Food: Observations: Results:

Water Turned into a foggy, baby blue liquid Negative

Banana Turned into a brown/blackish color Positive

Milk As the liquids mixed the milk became a violet, chunky Positive
substance

Apple Juice Stayed the same burnt orange color Negative

Eggs As the solution mixed with the eggs it turned into a Positive
violet colored solid

Lemonade Changed to a brighter yellow Negative

Fava Beans Turned into a black solid Positive

Conclusion:
In conclusion, we need protein so that it can fulfill its purpose to help our body stay alive and
healthy. Through these tests we learned that more whole foods (like beans, eggs, bananas, and milk)
consist of more protein. We also proved all our the hypotheses correct through these tests. We’d like to
test more complex food items next time we do this experiment.