Carbohydrates biochemical tests Flashcards
What chemical do we use to test for starch? What is the positive result?
- Potassium iodide.
- Iodine turns from orange to blue-black.
True or False
All monosaccharides and disaccharides are reducing sugars.
- False.
- All monosaccharides and SOME disaccharides are reducing sugars.
What is the test for reducing sugars?
- Add a liquified form (make liquified by griding/ adding water) of sample to test tube.
- Add equal volume of Benedict’s
- Heat for 5 minutes
What is the positive test for reducing sugars?
- Benedict’s turns from blue –> brick-red
What colours can benedict’s reagant go - starting from colour that shows lowest concentration of sugar?
- Blue
- Green
- Yellow
- Orange
- Brick-Red.
Give an example of a non-reducing and reducing sugar.
Non-reducing: sucrose
Reducing: glucose.
How do you test for a non-reducing sugar?
5 main steps
1.) Test the sample with Benedict’s to ensure it is a non-reducing sugar.
2.) Remove sample/ Benedict’s from test-tube and add more sample to an empty test-tube.
3.) Add acid to the test-tube/ BOIL (allow water in bath to reach 100 degrees.)
4.) Cool solution + add alkali to neutralise.
5.) Add Benedict’s reagant and heat.
What is it called when you add acid to a non-reducing sugar and BOIL them?
- Acid hydrolysis.
What two monosacharides would sucrose break into after undergoing acid hydrolysis?
- Glucose
- Fructose.
What is a reducing sugar?
- One that can give electrons to another chemical (ie. can reduce the other chemicals.)
What makes reducing sugars go from blue to brick-red in Benedict’s?
- The sugar reduces the copper oxide (blue) in Benedict’s to copper sulphate (brick-red.)
Why do non-reducing sugars not change colour in Benedict’s? Why DOES the Benedict’s reagant work after acid hydrolysis?
- Reducing group (allows sugar to reduce other chemicals) is involved in glycosidic bond.
- When sucrose is hydrolysed –> the glycosidic bond is broken and the reducing group is exposed
- Allowing the sugar to reduce the copper oxide
EXAM Q
A student carried out the Benedict’s test. Suggest a method, other than using a colorimeter,that this student could use to measure the quantity of reducing sugar in a solution.
- Filter/ dry precipitate.
- Find mass (of precipitate.)
What is a colorimeter?
- A device that is able to measure light absorbance (therefore, determing how much of a sugar solute there is in a solution of Benedict’s)
() - extra info for clarification.