Why do certain sugars produce more CO2 in anaerobic reactions?

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around the experimental observation of carbon dioxide (CO2) production by yeast in anaerobic reactions using different sugars. The focus is on understanding why sucrose and fructose resulted in higher CO2 production compared to other sugars like maltose, dextrose, and lactose.

Discussion Character

  • Homework-related
  • Exploratory
  • Technical explanation

Main Points Raised

  • One participant describes an experiment where yeast produced CO2 from sucrose and fructose, but not from other sugars.
  • Another participant suggests examining the structures of sucrose and fructose to identify similarities and differences that may explain the yeast's selective reaction.
  • A participant notes the need for further research on yeast fermentation and previous discussions on the topic.
  • There is a reference to external resources, including Wikipedia, to explore the commonalities between fructose and sucrose that might explain their utilization by yeast.
  • Questions are raised about the concentration of sugars in the mixed solution and how that might affect the results.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants express uncertainty about the reasons for the differing CO2 production among the sugars. There is no consensus on the underlying mechanisms or explanations for the observed results.

Contextual Notes

Participants highlight the need for clarity on the sugar concentrations used in the experiment, which may influence the outcomes. There is also a mention of previous discussions that may not directly address the specific questions raised in this thread.

Tido611
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im sorry i didnt know where to post this thread because it is homework but it isn't physics so i posted it here.

I have a project in grade 12 biology that i have to write a disscusion on and i will give a quickl overveiw of the experiment because i need help on writing my disscusion.

I have 0.5g of yeast mixed with 1.0g of 5 different sugars, Maltose, Dextrose, Fructose, Sucrose , Lactose, all mixed with 450ml of distilled water.The hole thig was an anarobic reaction so the yeast produced CO2 and ethanol.
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the levels of CO2 were measured and the only two that had a result were sucrose with 29ml of CO2 produced and fructose with 22ml of CO2 prduced.

i have no more time to write anything else but i need help to write my disscusion, why the certain sugars did this. if you have any questions post them and i will answer them tonite.
 
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This will probably get moved to the homework help section, but we can get you started here.

Think about the two sugars that gave you a positive result, the sucrose and fructose. What do you know about them? What are their structures, how are they similar or diffferent to each other and also how are they similar or different from the other sugars that did not yield any CO2? Do you have any ideas as to why the yeast would only react with those two and not the others. How could you test those ideas? This should get you well into the discussion.
 
thank you for the questions to write about even after a full day of research i have found no answers to any of these questions. So if any buddy on this site can help me in answering these quesitons it wopuld be greatly appretiated.
 
Tido, have you tried to look on PF for discussion about yeast and fermentation. We had a discussion in past about the type of sugar used by yeast under aerobic and anaerobic conditions.
 
yes i have looked at the different threads for yeast fermentation and still nothing is close to what i am doing or what i am asking, and if it is i simply can't decode it.can some one tell me why my experiment went the way it did cause i have no clue
 
This thread has the answer why some sugar are utilize and other are not.
https://www.physicsforums.com/showthread.php?t=63859

For doctoxyn comment, look at the wikipedia pages and tell me what is the common thing between fructose and sucrose and that is absent in all the other sugar.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fructose
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lactose
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maltose
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dextrose
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sucrose

For your all mixed sugar solution what was the concentration of each sugar?