How is benedict's reagent (saliva experiment) similar to the digestive system?I did a lab to see "the effect of Temperature on salivary amylase," and the question is "How are the conditions in this experiment similar to the conditions in the digestive system? how are they different"
Im so confused, if u can help me it'll help a lot! Thank you.
Posted by Sunnyside
O.K., I'll start by stating some facts, just so we're both on the same page:
Benedict's reagent is used to test for the presence of sugars. It stays blue when no sugar is present. However, if some sugar is present, it changes from blue to green, yellow, orange, or brick red, depending on how much sugar is present. (Not only does it tell you if ANY sugar is present, it tells you how much - sort of).
Amylase is an enzyme in human saliva that can turn starch into sugar. Bread and potatoes are both good sources of starch. If you chew bread or potato long enough, the amylase in your saliva will break the starch down into sugar, and the bread or potato you are chewing will begin to taste sweet.
The activity of enzymes is temperature dependent, meaning that each enzyme has a particular temperature at which is works best. Amylase has an optimal temperature of around 37 degrees Celsius. When the temperature is NOT optimal (or ideal), amylase will work more slowly, or not at all. The human mouth is usually around 33 to 37 degrees Celsius.
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I wasn't there when you did your lab so I'll guess what you did:
I imagine that you started with two or more containers (probably test tubes), each containing a measured amount of some starch (possibly bread or potato).
I imagine that you kept each container of starch at a different temperature. Maybe one was in an ice bath, maybe one was in a boiling water bath, and likely one was near the ideal temperature at which amylase works best (i.e., mouth temperature)..
I imagine that you added a measured amount of amylase to each container of starch for a set amount of time.
I imagine that, after the time was up, you added Benedict's reagent to each container of starch and amylase.
I imagine that the Benedict's turned different colours in the different containers of starch and amylase. Benedict's changes from blue to green, yellow, orange, or brick red, depending on how much sugar is present.
In the container(s) of starch and amylase that were NOT kept at an ideal temperature, the Benedict's reagent will remain blue (if zero sugar was produced) or the Benedict's reagent will change colour, maybe to yellow or green, to indicate the presence of a tiny amount of sugar.
In the container of starch and amylase that WAS kept at an ideal temperature, around 33 to 37 degrees Celsius, the enzyme will have turned more starch into sugar, so more sugar will be present, so the Benedict's reagent will probably change to a more orangey red colour.
Likely, the container of starch and amylase where the Benedicts turned most orangey red was the part of your experiment that was attempting to duplicate the conditions in the human mouth (where amylase is naturally found).
Likely, the other containers of starch and amylase where the Benedicts stayed more blue or green were the parts of your experiment most unlike the conditions in the human mouth.
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That's the best I can do without knowing which experiment you did.
Hope that helped.
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