Today, we completed a two-day lab that involved test tubes, diluted hydrochloric acid, and some pepsin (meat tenderizer). The experiment was representing the digestion of food within our stomach. Our stomach contains hydrochloric acid and the enzyme, pepsin. These two substances work together to digest the food in our stomach. We started out with four test tubes, labeled A, B, C, and D that represented a ‘stomach’ each. Test tube A contained the meat tenderizer, while test tube B contained meat tenderizer mixed with water. Test tube C contained hydrochloric acid and test tube D had hydrochloric acid mixed with meat tenderizer. On day one, we placed egg whites in each test tube. This would be the protein that our "stomachs" were going to digest. The plan was to come back and observe the results of ‘digestion’ on the second day. Digestion would cause the egg whites to clump up at the bottom of the test tube. Test tube A and C demonstrated the effect of each chemical individually. There was literally no change from day one to day two in test tube A or test tube B, while test tube C showed some signs of partial digestion. Test tube D really showed us what the chemicals can do when working in combination. It was easily the best at digesting the egg whites, as seen by the clump at the bottom of the test tube. This experiment also demonstrated that the chemical digestion of protein is a slow process confirming why your stomach needs time to digest food. Egg whites are a form of protein and it took them a whole 24 hours for digestion. This was our first lab experiment that involved the use of dangerous chemicals, and we were able to come through successfully.
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