Enzyme Catalyzed Reaction Lab

This experiment looked at how substrate concentration can affect enzyme activity. In this case the substrate was hydrogen peroxide and the enzyme was catalase. Pieces of meat providing the catalase were added to increasing concentrations of hydrogen peroxide in order to measure the effect of hydrogen peroxide concentrations on the enzyme’s activity. The variable measured was oxygen produced, as water would be too difficult to measure with basic equipment.

This investigation will be carried out to investigate the rate of reaction of the enzyme catalase on the substrate hydrogen peroxide.

The purpose of this experiment was to simply measure oxygen production rates released from decomposed hydrogen peroxide under different conditions (concentration of enzymes, temperature, and PH level).

The purpose of this investigation is to discover the effect of pH on the activity of catalase, an enzyme which plays the integral role of converting hydrogen peroxide into water and oxygen, and discover which pH level it will work at the most efficient rate (the optimum). The original hypothesis states that that the optimum would be at a pH is 7, due to the liver, where catalase usually resides, being neutral. The experiment consists of introducing the catalase to hydrogen peroxide, after exposure to certain solutions; hydrogen peroxide, water and hydrochloric acids, all containing the adjusted pH, and measuring the height of froth formed, an observable representation of the activity of the enzyme. The final data indicated that

An Enzyme is a protein, which is capable of starting a chemical reaction, which involves the formation or breakage of chemical bonds. A substrate is the surface or material on or from which an organism lives, grows, or obtains its nourishment. In this case it is hydrogen peroxide. This lab report will be explaining the experiment held to understand the effects of the changes in the amount of substrate on the enzyme’s reaction.

The data from the experiment supports the hypothesis that catalase functions the most efficiently at a neutral pH of 7. Table 1 shows that catalase helped consume 3 mL of hydrogen peroxide in the solution with a pH of 7, more than any other solution. As the pH

Abstract: Enzymes, catalytic proteins that at as catalysis which makes the process of chemical reactions more easily. There are two main factors that actually affects enzymes and their functions which are temperature and pH. Throughout this experiment, the study how pH and peroxidase affects each other and the enzyme was made. The recordings of how the enzymes responded when it was exposed to four different pH levels to come up with an optimum pH which was predicted in the hypothesis and the IRV at the end.

The chemical hydrogen peroxide(H₂O₂) is broken down by the enzyme catalase. Hydrogen peroxide is a byproduct formed in cellular reactions that, if not broken down, could inflict severe damage to the cell. Catalase is an enzyme that breaks down hydrogen peroxide in to water and oxygen. How efficient and strong the enzymes reaction to break down H₂O₂ determines largely on temperature and pH level. An enzyme only functions within a set pH and temperature range. Beyond that it becomes denatured, rendering it useless. The purpose of this lab is to determine at which temperature and pH level the enzyme catalase reacts best. Catalase in chicken and beef livers will be used to do the lab because enzymes still function after death as long as they are kept refrigerated at a low temperature.

BACKGROUND: Catalase (the enzyme) is found in yeast, it breaks down hydrogen peroxide (the substrate) into water and oxygen according to this equation. 2H2O2(aq) -------------------> 2H2O(l) + O2(g) + catalase(aq) One molecule of catalase can break 40 million molecules of hydrogen peroxide each second. Factors that affect the rate of reaction § Increasing the temperature increases the kinetic energy at which the enzyme and substrate collide.

Enzyme catalysis is the increase in the rate of a chemical reaction by the active site of a protein. A catalyst is a substance that can help the reactants in a chemical reaction react with each other faster. The catalyst for this experiment is yeast. In this lab, the chemical combination of hydrogen peroxide and yeast are used to form a reaction of creating oxygen. The active sites of the yeast combines with the hydrogen peroxide and causes oxygen to form at various levels. Yeast is a one-celled organism belonging to the group of organisms called fungi. Yeast is sometimes used in genetic engineering to produce large quantities of enzymes that can be used for medical purposes as healing wounds and reducing inflammation (How Stuff

Effects Temperature and Substrate Concentration have on Enzyme Catalase Activity Abstract Enzymes are protein catalysts, which is a substance that speeds up the rate of a chemical reaction. The need of breaking down hydrogen peroxide into oxygen is growing because of the harmful toxins present. In the first experiment we hypothesized that as the substrate concentration increased, so did the reaction rate, therefore allowing more oxygen to be produced is less time. The first experiment mixed each substrate concentration, 0.8%, 0.4%, 0.2%, and 0.1% with a constant catalase buffer.

Organisms cannot depend solely on spontaneous reactions for the production of materials because they occur slowly and are not responsive to the organism's needs (Martineau, Dean, et al, Laboratory Manual, 43). In order to speed up the reaction process, cells use enzymes as biological catalysts. Enzymes are able to speed up the reaction through lowering activation energy. Additionally, enzymes facilitate reactions without being consumed (manual,43). Each enzyme acts on a specific molecule or set of molecules referred to as the enzyme's substrate and the results of this reaction are called products (manual 43). As a result, enzymes promote a reaction so that substrates are converted into products on a faster pace (manual 43). Most enzymes are proteins whose structure is determined by its sequence of its amino acids. Enzymes are designed to function the best under physiological conditions of PH and temperature. Any change of these variables that change the conformation of the enzyme will destroy or enhance enzyme activity(manual, 43).

In this experiment, the concentration of the enzyme catalase was manipulated in a reaction with hydrogen peroxide; the levels of oxygen gas produced from the reaction were recorded. Enzymes are efficient catalysts in biochemical reactions that speed up the pace of the reactions by offering an alternative pathway for reaction (“Enzymes”, n.d.). This alternative pathway or route occurs when the enzyme and the substrate form a reaction intermediate, which occurs due

This experiment is designed to analyze how the enzyme catalase activity is affected by the pH levels. The experiment has also been designed to outline all of the directions and the ways by which the observation can be made clearly and accurately. Yeast, will be used as the enzyme and hydrogen peroxide will be used as a substrate. This experiment will be used to determine the effects of the concentration of the hydrogen peroxide versus the rate of reaction of the enzyme catalase.

Hydrogen peroxide is a toxic byproduct of cellular functions. To maintain hydrogen peroxide levels the catalase enzyme deconstructs hydrogen peroxide and reconstructs the reactants into oxygen gas and water. The catalase enzyme is found inside cells of most plants and animals. Regulating the levels of hydrogen peroxide is crucial in homeostasis and analyzing it’s optimal conditions for performance is just as important. To understand the optimal environment for this enzyme, they are put into different environments based off protein activity (enzymes are proteins). Catalase samples will be put into different hydrogen peroxide environments based off pH and temperature. The more active the enzyme, the more oxygen and water it will produce. Enzyme activity can be seen through the release of oxygen in the hydrogen peroxide. Since oxygen cannot be accurately measured, the data will consist of the longevity of the reaction in different environments. If the pH is higher than 7, then the reaction rate will increase due to the ample amount of hydrogen ions in the hydrogen peroxide. However the pH level cannot be higher than 10 or else there will be too many hydrogen atoms in the peroxide for the enzyme to be able to deconstruct them. If the temperature is increased, then the reaction rate will increase due to the ample amount of energy and movement in the hydrogen peroxide and enzyme.