Pumpkin carving and protein testing by Year 12 biologists!
Year 12 biologists test pumpkins for different biomolecules and carve them for a Halloween twist!
Year 12 biologists used pumpkins to complete a series of biomolecule tests as part of their A level curriculum. The flesh and seeds of the pumpkin are high in lipids and carbohydrates although most of a pumpkin consists of water! ‘We tested our pumpkins for sugars using the Benedicts test and recorded how much lipid was present using the emulsion test’. We didn’t want to waste our pumpkins so we carved them ready to use for Halloween’ said Ella S. Pumpkins are a great source of vitamin A so if you are carving pumpkins for Halloween, don’t throw the pumpkin away, you could make pumpkin soup. The heaviest pumpkin was recorded last year, with a mass of over 1000kg, equivalent to an adult male walrus!