Egg Macromolecule Lab Conclusion

     In this lab we asked the question "Can macromolecules be identified in an egg cell?"  Our group found that macromolecules can be found throughout the egg.  Our group found lipids in the egg membrane.  Our group found protein in egg white.  Our group found monosaccharides in the egg yolk.  During the experiment to find lipids, the amount of lipids found in the egg membrane ranked 8 on a scale from 1-10, 10 including abundant amounts of that macromolecule.  During the experiment to find protein, our group found a rank of 5 for abundance of protein.  During the experiment to find monosaccharides, our group found a rank of 7 for abundance of monosaccharides.  This data supports our claim because the macromolecules were found in the places our group thought it would be.  The lipid would be found in the cell membrane, the protein would be found in the egg white, and the monosaccharide would be found in the egg yolk.

     While our hypothesis was supported by our data, there could have been errors due to the different judgments people had when scaling the amounts of macromolecules from 1-10.  Another error could have been that the tubes did not go into the water at the exact same time.  The tubes were put in one by one and then started the timer started after the last tube entered.  Then after the timer ended, the group took out the tubes one by one and started observing.  The observation time would be different because the tubes would have time to change color more or less time than the other tubes.  Due to these errors, in future experiments I would recommend providing a color scale to base the numbers from 1-10.  The lab sheet should have a color to say that a 10 would look like this and a 1 would look like this.  For the second problem, I would recommend having a friend help put in all four tubes at once and another person starting timer exactly when the tubes would make contact with the water.  Before the timer ends, have a friend get ready to pull out the tubes exactly when the timer ends so that way the time of the tubes sitting in the water would be almost identical.

     This lab was done to demonstrate where each of the macromolecules were located inside an egg cell.  From this lab, I learned that each macromolecule is located in a certain part of the egg because the macromolecule corresponds with what the part of the egg needs to do.  This helps me understand the different concepts of how the different macromolecules would function because the macromolecules have the same function an egg does so the macromolecules would go to where the egg needs to do its function.  For example, in biology class, we learned that lipids would be found in membranes.  It is helpful to know the information, but the information tends to stick better when the information could be seen in a real example of lab such as the Egg Macromolecule Lab.  Not only did the lab help the students understand that the fact is true, the student could see why the fact is true.  Based on my experience from this lab, I could then look at a different type of cell and locate where and what kind of macromolecule would be and why.