Pulp of fruits
To analyse some fruit pulps in order to show their nutritive substance values.
The science behind this experiment
Seed dispersion is fundamental for plants to continue to propagate. Natural selection favoured those plants whose fruits had pulp — an edible part which can be eaten by animals, helping the dispersion of seeds.
Equipment used
- Test tubes — PLA-007
- Test tube rack — PLA-012
- Test tube holder — PLA-017
- Spirit burner — CHE-022
- Scalpel — PLA-026
- Spatula — PLA-024
- Dropping pipette with teat — PLA-003+PLA-019
- Mortar with pestle — PLA-013
- 1 apple
- 1 banana
- 1 tomato
Chemicals and reagents
- Distilled water
- Lugol's solution — R:21-22 S:24/25
- Fehling's solution A
- Fehling's solution B
Safety notes
- Be careful using the scalpel.
What to expect
Lugol solution and Fehling solution are specific reagents for starch and sugar respectively. The intensity of the colouration after their reaction is proportional to the amount of starch and sugar present in the sample tested. Apple and banana show a higher content of sugars whereas tomato presents a higher content of starch. Of course the results may vary from fruit to fruit.
Disposal
Dispose of the tested solutions into the acids and bases waste container.
Run this experiment in your classroom
This experiment is part of ATP Volta — a self-contained mobile science lab that turns an ordinary classroom into a working STEM laboratory, with over 200 experiments in physics, chemistry, biology, robotics and engineering. Gali, the AI tutor built into ATP Connect, guides students through each step and answers their questions at the bench.
See the ATP Volta mobile science labTalk to our team