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Catalase Lab

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Conclusion:
The investigation supported the hypothesis that if the concentration of Catalase were to increase from 25%, 50%, 75%, and 100%, there would be an initial increase in the change in temperature (degrees) until the Catalase concentration no longer becomes the limiting factor and the graph starts to plateau.

As illustrated in graph 1, the change in temperature (degrees) appears to increase at a constant rate until it reaches the 50% Catalase concentration. The graph then starts to plateau up until the 100% Catalase concentration. At the lowest concentration of Catalase (i.e. 25%), the Catalase is the limiting factor as there is a higher ratio of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) molecules compared to the catalase. As the concentration of Catalase …show more content…

It can be inferred that in order for chemical reactions to occur at their optimum, only a certain amount of enzymes are required. Therefore, increasing the concentration of enzymes will not necessarily increase the rate of reaction. Thus, this experiment illustrates how important it is for plant and animal cells to produce the correct amount of enzymes to accommodate for the substrates, as enzymes are recyclable and only need to occur in small …show more content…

If the thermometer was calibrated incorrectly, it would have given values that were different from the true value, which could account for the scattered data sets for the 25% and 100% concentrated Catalase. In addition, the timer may have been calibrated incorrectly resulting the temperature to be taken slightly before or after 30 seconds. Nevertheless, the margin of error would be constant, as the same thermometer and timer were used throughout the practical. Moreover, to ensure that the equipment used is calibrated correctly, the experiment should be repeated again using different equipment. This would improve the precision of the results, as there would be more data points to plot and will also give an indication if any of the equipment used were calibrated incorrectly, hence minimising systematic errors.

Sample Size:
This investigation consisted of two trials, each with 4 different data points (25%, 50%, 75%, and 100%), giving a total sample size of 8. As illustrated in graph 1, this was adequate enough to support the hypothesis and theory of the investigation.

Furthermore, the sample size enabled an average to be calculated, which ultimately minimises the effects of any outliers. This is evident in the graph were the impact of the outlier in the 25% concentrated Catalase for trial 1 has been reduced and is further supported by a very high r2 value which gives a

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