In this lab, biology students were directed to use indicators as chemical detection tools, to analyze a variety of foods for the
presence of carbohydrates, lipids or proteins. One group of students was given four unmarked containers of sugars: glucose, sucrose, fructose, and galactose. How could they use the standard lab tests to find the sucrose?
Benedict's test which is meant to detect non-reducing sugar like sucrose from reducing sugars like glucose, fructose or galactose can be used to identify sucrose.
Explanation:
Glucose, fructose and galactose are reducing sugars so they can easily be identified against non-reducing like sucrose. A reducing sugar is a kind of sugar which has a free aldehyde or ketone group. Free aldehyde and ketone groups act as a reducing agent and they are capable of reducing other substances. In this situation, the reducing sugar reduces other substances and themselves get oxidized. In contrast to this, a non-reducing sugar can not act as a reducing agent because it has lack of a free aldehyde or ketone group.
Benedict's test is a test which is used to identify a non reducing sugar from reducing sugars. In this test, a reducing sugar (Glucose, fructose or galactose) is heated with Benedict's solution which leads to the change of color of solution toorange-red/ brick red. But no such color change will be detected if sucrose is heated with Benedict's solution.
Fossils of Ambulocetus show that it was about 3 meters long. It had hind legs which were more suited for swimming than for walking. It could hear very well under water, and its teeth resembled those of modern cetaceans. Its limb anatomy suggests that it was slow on land and in the water.
