The Function and Structure of Lipids in Living Organisms
The Function and Structure of Lipids in Living Organisms Lipids are a group of organic compounds that are fatty acids and include Oils, Fats, Waxes and Steroids. They are also all insoluble in water because they are non-polar but are soluble in solvents, which is why solvents are often used in home cleaning products like oven cleaners and drain cleaners to remove build-up's of fats and oils. Also lipids like wax can be very useful and vital for many creatures such as bird and semi-aquatic mammals which use them to make their feathers fur waterproof. Similarly humans use keratin in the epidermis and oil produced by the sebaceous glands help to make their skin waterproof(1). The structure of lipids Lipids similar to carbohydrates contain carbon, oxygen and hydrogen, but in lipids the proportion of oxygen is a lot lower than carbohydrates. Also lipids are insoluble in water because they are non-polar which means that the positive and negative charges cancel out each other so it doesn't have a positive or negative charge but they are soluble in organic solvents such as ethane and methane because they are also non-polar. Fatty acids can be saturated or unsaturated depending on their carbon bonding and can be told apart easily because of their state at room temperature, ether solid or liquid. Saturated fatty acids are made up of hydrogen, oxygen and carbon, the carbon in the
Describe the molecular structure of starch (amylase), glycogen and cellulose, and relate these structures to their functions in living organisms.
Describe the molecular structure of starch (amylase), glycogen and cellulose, and relate these structures to their functions in living organisms. Carbohydrates are the main energy source for the human body. Chemically, carbohydrates are organic molecules in which carbon, hydrogen and oxygen bond together in the ratio: Cx(H2O)y where x and y are whole numbers that differ depending on the specific carbohydrate to which we are referring. Animals (including humans) break down carbohydrates during the process of metabolism to release energy. For example, the chemical metabolism of the sugar glucose is shown below: C6H12O6 + 6 O2 6 CO2 + 6 H2O + energy Animals obtain carbohydrates by eating foods that contain them, for example potatoes, rice, breads, etc. These carbohydrates are manufactured by plants during the process of photosynthesis. Plants harvest energy from sunlight to run the reaction described above in reverse: 6 CO2 + 6 H2O + energy (from sunlight) C6H12O6 + 6 O2 A potato, for example, is primarily a chemical storage system containing glucose molecules manufactured during photosynthesis. In a potato, however, those glucose molecules are bound together in a long chain. As it turns out, there are two types of carbohydrates, the simple sugars and those carbohydrates that are made of long chains of sugars - the complex carbohydrates. In this essay I am going to
The comparison of antibacterial properties of herbal products and standard antibiotics
The comparison of antibacterial properties of herbal products and standard antibiotics Introduction: This is As biology coursework, studying the area of microbiology the main investigation contains the comparison of antibacterial properties of herbal products and standard antibiotics. Aim: The aim is to investigate the effect of herbal products against standard antibiotics on bacteria growth. To examine the extent to which the herbal products (tea tree oil and peppermint oil) and the standard antibiotics (penicillin and streptomycin), reduce bacteria growth of E.coli and M.luteus. This will be discovered by measuring the growth of bacteria on the agar plates and comparing the results. Background information: The proposed aim surrounds the study of bacteria growth and various other products, which can have an affect on the growth rate; it is therefore necessary to look deeper into the topic criteria to get a wider understanding and to help design an appropriate hypothesis. From self-knowledge antibiotics are chemicals produced by microorganisms, which are designed to inhibit and destroy specific pathogens when used at low temperatures. Antibiotics release chemicals, which inhibit bacterial growth and work on a specific action site. The first founded antibiotic was penicillin discovered accidentally by Alexander Fleming in 1928 from a mold culture. It can be
Investigation of the effect of different carbohydrate substrates on yeast growth
"Investigation of the effect of different carbohydrate substrates on yeast growth" Yeasts are eukaryotic microorganisms classified in the kingdom Fungi. The cell walls made of Chitin and they can be found virtually everywhere; "on the skin, on some fruits, in the soil and some are airborne" Saccharomyces cerevisiae are the species of yeast to be used in this experiment. They are used in industry due to the secretion of enzymes that they produce which breaks down sugars by two means aerobically or anaerobic. Aerobically (sugar + Oxygen --> Carbon dioxide + Water + 38 ATP energy) and anaerobically (sugar --> Ethanol + Carbon dioxide + 2 ATP) as this experimental investigation is about the growth of yeast, the main equation is the aerobic one due to it provides 38 ATP energy for cell division either by means of mitotic growth (asexual/ budding) which is the more common type of growth or by means of meiosis (sexual reproduction). The energy is necessary for the oxidising the sugar (C6H12O6/ glucose) into pyruvate, glycolysis happens in the cytoplasm. I will experiment three different sugars; glucose a monosaccharide; maltose a disaccharide and sucrose Alternative hypothesis Glucose will have the largest effect on yeast growth. Maltose will have a slight effect on yeast growth. Sucrose will have the least effect on the yeast growth. Null hypothesis (necessary for
Factors effecting enzyme activity
Biology Coursework Factors effecting enzyme activity Aim: To investigate the effect of temperature on the rate of catalase activity. Enzymes are proteins that act as catalysts, which are made in the cells. A catalyst is a chemical substance that speeds up a reaction but does not get used up in the process. Enzymes can be used over and over. There are two types of enzyme reactivity, these are called anabolic and catabolic reactions. An anabolic reaction is where large molecules are built up from smaller molecule. A catabolic reaction is where reactions split large molecules into smaller ones. Enzymes work by a method called the lock and key method: Basically it works by the enzyme meeting the substrate and they both fit together well to make an enzyme-substrate complex. This works well because enzymes have a definite three dimensional shapes which is complementary to the shape of the substrate. In the enzyme-substrate complex, the substrate attaches to an area on the enzymes known as the active site. The enzyme is then free to react again with any available substrate. Catalase can be found, not just in humans but in potatoes, apples and the liver. During my preliminary work, I will be investigating which of these gives off the most oxygen. The one which gives off the most oxygen will be the catalase that I use during my experiments. This way it will give me the best
Features of Lungs & Tissues
I am going to compare different tissues with similarities, including what cells are in the tissues and where they are located and what organelles are within the cells, also to state their functions including explaining how each tissue is able to carry out their role. Firstly I will compare (Alveolus of lung/Bronchus of lung), secondly (Stomach/Urinary bladder). Alveolus of lung Bronchus of lung What cells are in the tissues? There are three types of cells within the tissue (Type I, Type II and Macrophages). * Type I (Squamous Alveolar) cells that form the structure of an alveolar wall * Type II (Great Alveolar) cells that secrete pulmonary surfactant to lower the surface tension of water and allow the membrane to separate, thereby increasing the capability to exchange gases. Surfactant is continuously released by exocytosis. It forms an underlying aqueous protein-containing hypophase and an overlying phospholipid film composed primarily of dipalmitoyl phosphatidylcholine. * Macrophages that destroy foreign material, such as bacteria. Where they are located? Type II cell is located in the alveolar epithelium. Macrophage cell is found in the pulmonary alveolus, near the pneumocytes, but separated from the wall and type I cell is located beneath the plasmalemma . Main organelles within the cell? Organelles found within the cells are as follows: Nucleus,
Determination of Vitamin C in food
.2 Determination of Vitamin C in food Vitamin C, L-ascorbic acid or L-ascorbate is an essential nutrient in humans. This is because we cannot synthesis the vitamin from glucose in the liver. It is thought that the absence of an enzyme l-gulonolactone oxidase from liver cells1 prevents humans from converting glucose into ascorbic acid. Ascorbic acid functions as an anti-oxidant in living organisms protecting the body against the effect of oxidative stress. Ascorbic acid is also important biologically as it is used as a cofactor in enzymatic reactions (no less than 8 reactions have been identified). These include the synthesis of collagen, a deficiency of which leads to the most notable disease of vitamin c loss, scurvy. Ascorbic acid forms the part of many important physiological functions. These include the syntheses of collagen, neurotransmitters, tyrosine carnitine and metabolism of microsome2. But most importantly it is known for its antioxidant activity. When free radicals are present in cells as high levels they are thought to have an effect on cardiovascular disease, high blood pressure and chronic inflammatory diseases3. It is thought that ascorbic acid reacts with these free radicals preventing them from causing damage to cells. How to measure the amount of Vitamin C in food One way to measure the amount of vitamin C in our food is to use what is called a redox
An Investigation into the Water Potential Of Root Vegetables.
An Investigation into the Water Potential Of Root Vegetables. The aim of this investigation is to find the water potential of two root vegetables and to evaluate any differences that are found. Root vegetables take in the water they need through a process known as osmosis. Water moves from an area of high water potential to an area of low water potential through a partially permeable membrane. The water potential of root vegetables depends on the concentration of solutes within their cells. Starch is not soluble so the starch content of the vegetables will not affect the water potential. Sucrose however is soluble. In the investigation I will find the isotonic solution for each vegetable based on the principle that when the vegetable is in a hypertonic solution it will lose water (and become plasmolysed) and therefore lose mass and that when the vegetable is in a hypotonic solution it will gain water (and become turgid) and gain mass. By calculating the percentage change in each vegetable piece I will be able to find the concentration of sucrose solution at which the vegetable will gain no mass. Once the isotonic solution is found for each vegetable, its water potential can be found by using a reference graph, which shows the water potential for different concentrations of sucrose. The two vegetables I will use will be a potato and a swede. Swedes are considered a sweet
Effect of enzyme concentration on rate of reaction
Title : Effect of enzyme concentration on rate of reaction Objective : To investigate the effect of enzyme concentration on rate of reaction Introduction : Enzyme A catalyst is a substance which speeds up the rate of reaction without changing the product and is left unchanged at the end of the reaction1. An enzyme is a biological catalyst that catalyses metabolic reactions in your body such as digestion and respiration. At any time, many reactions are occurring simultaneously in our bodies. There are two types of reaction that is the anabolic reaction and the catabolic reaction. An anabolic reaction is a reaction that results in the formation of a substance from two or more substrate molecules while a catabolic reaction is a reaction that involves the breakdown of a substance into two or more product molecules. A combination of biochemical reactions like these are known as metabolism.. Enzyme action can be intracellular that is within cells or extracellular that is outside cells. Extracellular enzymes such as digestive enzymes are effective in the digestive tract while intracellular enzymes are found in the cytoplasm, nucleus, mitochondria and chloroplasts in cells.2 Enzymes are complex proteins which have are made of several polypeptide chains joined together. Enzymes have a tertiary or quaternary structure which is held together by bonds such as hydrogen bonds,
Biology Coursework - Osmosis - To Investigate concentration of sucrose solution is isotonic to potato cell sap.
Biology Coursework - Osmosis Planning Aim: To investigate what concentration of sucrose solution is isotonic to potato cell sap. Apparatus: 0M sucrose (aq) (distilled water) 2M sucrose (aq) Potato Chip cutter Knife Boiling tubes Measuring cylinder (25cm3) Vernier callipers (to nearest 0.1mm) Balance (to nearest 0.01gram) Safety: I will ensure safety around the lab by: wearing safety goggles, laying paper towels, removing baggage from walking space, push stools under the bench, stand up, walk carefully and slowly - don't rush and handle equipment and apparatus carefully. Preliminary Experiment: I did a small experiment before doing the real one so I could find a suitable range to base my investigation round. I used 3 chips in 3 boiling tubes, each containing 20cm3 of: 0M sucrose, 0.5M sucrose and 1M sucrose. Moles of Sucrose /M Original Mass /g Mass after 3 hours /g Up/Down in mass 0M 8.02 9.94 Up 0.5M 8.18 7.83 Down M 8.83 7.20 Down As you can see from my preliminary results, I should investigate between 0M sucrose and 0.5M sucrose as a suitable range. I predicted that the isotonic concentration lies between 0.35M and 0.4M. Method: I will cut 5 chips with no skin on them and have them approximately the same length, width, breadth and mass (using the balance and Vernier callipers for extra accuracy), then I will dry off the sap completely. I will
