How to Calculate Leaf Surface Area

Lay the leaves to be measured on a 1-cm grid and trace their outlines. Count the number of square centimeters. Estimate the area of the partial squares. (Here's a simple method for this estimate: Count a partial square if it is at least half covered by the leaf; do not count partial squares that are less than half covered.) Do not include the area of the stem (petiole) in your calculations.

What is the surface area of this leaf in cm2?

How do you test for fats in a food?

Introduction If a drop of liquid (such as alcohol, water or oil) falls on paper, it makes a mark which is bright and translucent (lets light through) when the paper is held up to the light. With some liquids the mark disappears as soon as the liquid evaporates. Alcohol takes a few seconds to disappear, water takes about a minute, but oil remains, forming a permanent grease spot. The spot will not disappear after dried up. In this way paper provides a method of distinguishing between oil and other liquids. Procedure: 1. Add a drop of cooking oil onto a piece of filter paper. 2. The oil patch on the filter paper is dried up. 3. Observe the spot formed on the filter paper.

Question:
A _______________ spot is formed on the filter paper. It does not _______________ after dried up.

How do you test for starch in a food?

Many different food groups contain a carbohydrate known as starch. Using an iodine solution, you can test for the presence of starch. When starch is present, the iodine changes from brown to blue-black or purple.

Warning Be careful in handling iodine. It can stain clothing, equipment and skin. DO NOT put iodine in your mouth and DO NOT eat any tested foods, as iodine can be poisonous. Wash your hands and throw everything away when done.

Procedure: 1. Add a few drops of iodine solution to the bread given using a dropper. 2. Observe the colour change on the food.

Question:
When the iodine solution is added onto the bread, the brown colour of iodine solution turns to _________________.

More ideas
Foods that are high in starch include grain foods and some vegetables, such as dried beans and peas, potatoes, yams, and corn. As fruits ripen, the amount of starch can decrease. Unripe bananas contain a fair amount of starch, but ripe bananas dont, as the starches have transformed to sugars. A ripe banana will not produce a bluish-black color with iodine, but you will see the effect in a greener banana. You can experiment to see how the amount of starch has changed. The starch test is used in industry. In beer brewing, a negative starch test result confirms that all the starches in the beer have been converted to sugars, as expected.