Overview
For this project, our group researched the fermentation and curdling of milk using four different methods to make cheese, a rather different task for STEM. The assignment was split into three different parts, the first being the regular execution of the experiment, the second being a manipulation of a variable to analyze the effect of a specific change on the process, and the third being the test of finding exactly which macromolecules were in the cheese.
Evidence: Lab Report
Content
Macromolecules: (carbohydrates, lipids, proteins and nucleic acids) molecules connected together to form a long strand with a base of carbon that is then built off of to hold energy and act as a messenger for signaling other molecules (found in cheese and all living things & tested in this experiment for all four different types to find which were in cheese)
Carbohydrates: made up of simple sugars (one ring and are either monosaccharides and disaccharides) and complex sugars (many rings constitute polysaccharides)
Monosaccharides: simple sugar with formula CH20 (ex. glucose with formula of C6H12O6), typically having between 3 and 7 carbon atoms and mainly provide energy (glucose: energy for animals & fructose: energy for plants)
Pollysaccharides: long chains of monosaccharides that store energy and help form structures within the cell (ex: glycogen, starch, cellulose)
Lipids: saturated or unsaturated organic compounds that are either fatty acids or their derivatives, as well as insoluble in water but soluble in organic solvents (ex: triaclyglycerols, phospholipids, glycolipids) with the three major roles of storing fat, creating the cell membrane and signalling throughout the cell with steroid hormones and messenger molecules
Proteins: built with 20 different amino acids bonded together in one or more chains to execute tasks directly in cell (ex: structure, transport information between cells, defend cell from pathogens, enzymes)
Nucleic Acids: consist of either one or two chains of nucleotides that carry genetic information, mainly through DNA and RNA
Carbohydrates: made up of simple sugars (one ring and are either monosaccharides and disaccharides) and complex sugars (many rings constitute polysaccharides)
Monosaccharides: simple sugar with formula CH20 (ex. glucose with formula of C6H12O6), typically having between 3 and 7 carbon atoms and mainly provide energy (glucose: energy for animals & fructose: energy for plants)
Pollysaccharides: long chains of monosaccharides that store energy and help form structures within the cell (ex: glycogen, starch, cellulose)
Lipids: saturated or unsaturated organic compounds that are either fatty acids or their derivatives, as well as insoluble in water but soluble in organic solvents (ex: triaclyglycerols, phospholipids, glycolipids) with the three major roles of storing fat, creating the cell membrane and signalling throughout the cell with steroid hormones and messenger molecules
Proteins: built with 20 different amino acids bonded together in one or more chains to execute tasks directly in cell (ex: structure, transport information between cells, defend cell from pathogens, enzymes)
Nucleic Acids: consist of either one or two chains of nucleotides that carry genetic information, mainly through DNA and RNA
Reflection
Overall, my group worked rather well together and successfully completed the project with little difficulty. One thing we did well was time management, all of our team members on task for the most part and keeping up with the tasks needed to be done. Another strong component I felt we approached well was the approach of the three components of the assignment as opposed to the typical one. This allowed our group to collaborate on several aspects of the experiment, dividing and conquering to completely analyze each part of the work done. However, I personally could have improved my leadership by taking initiative and offering my ideas to the group. One weakness of our group was not fully reading through the directions, which resulted in some miscalculations and measurements that took extra time to fix. This project was an odd, yet rather interesting one for me!