Enzyme Lab Report

Enzyme can be defined as a protein molecule that is a biological catalyst. (Ophardt, 2003) Catalyst increases the speed of a reaction but does not have to use anything to help increase the speed. An enzyme can be determined by their properties. Enzyme are a substrate specific, substrate connects to an enzyme at the location of an active site. Enzyme is not used in a reaction and enzyme function in a good condition at the optimum temperatures and pH. (Ahmez2005) Peroxidase is a type of enzyme which is used in the experiment.

Enzymes are proteins that act as catalysts during a biochemical process. Catalysts are non-changing enzymes that can increase or decrease activation energy to accelerate or slow down a biochemical reaction without using additional energy.

The more acidic a substance is the less oxygen it will produce when going through a chemical reaction. During the Lab “How Do Changes in pH Levels Affect Enzymes Activity”, the researcher conducted an experiment to test the effects that an acidic, neutral, and a base substance will have when combine it with hydrogen peroxide. The data table shows that HCL (acidic substance) barley produced any oxygen at all when it was combining with Hydrogen Peroxide. The pH level for HCL was 2.5; this level indicates that the substance was very acidic. When the H2O and NaOH were tested they produced more bubbles than HCL. NaoH produced a little more bubbles than HCL. The pH that NaoH produced was a 9, which is a base. H2O produced more bubbles than both substances;

Enzymes are a very important to the biological process. Enzymes help break down food and are essential in helping convert that food to energy. Enzymes have a single function, which makes them unique and need specific conditions in order for the reaction to occur. Every function in an organism has its own unique enzyme (What are enzymes?). One important thing to know about enzymes is that they are proteins. According to rsc.org enzymes are efficient catalysts for biochemical reactions and they, “speed up reactions by providing an alternative reaction pathway of lower activation energy” (Enzymes).

As stated in the introduction, three conditions that may affect enzyme activity are salinity, temperature, and pH. In experiment two, we explored how temperature can affect enzymatic activity. Since most enzymes function best at their optimum temperature or room temperature, it was expected that the best reaction is in this environment. The higher the temperature that faster the reaction unless the enzyme is denatured because it is too hot. Similarly, pH and salinity can affect enzyme activity.

pH along with temperature and concentration is a limiting factor of enzyme activity. Enzymes, which are proteins, have a distinct pH range in which they work most effectively. Beyond or below this specific pH, enzyme activity begins to diminish and eventually the enzyme is rendered useless. The optimum pH of an enzyme is the pH at which it is most effective and causes the fastest rate of reaction(source). This decrease in enzyme activity beyond the optimum pH is attributed to the change in shape of the active site(explained earlier) of the enzyme. This change in shape can be brought upon when the surrounding pH moves away from the optimum pH, and it can prevent the enzyme from binding with the substrate.

Enzymes are catalysts that function to speed up reactions; for example, the enzyme sucrose speeds up the hydrolysis of sucrose, which breaks down into glucose and fructose. They speed up reactions but are not consumed by the reaction that is taking place. The most important of the enzyme is the shape as it determines which type of reaction the enzyme speeds up. Enzymes work by passing/lowering and energy barrier and in doing so; they need to bind to substrates via the active. Once they do, the reaction speeds up so much more quickly than it would without the enzyme. Coenzymes and cofactors aid the enzyme when it comes to binding with the substrate. They change the shape of the active site so the substrate can bind properly and perform its function.

pH - Enzymes also have an optimum pH level. The pH of a solution affects the enzyme's secondary and tertiary structures. These bonds make the shape of an enzyme's active site. So, if these bonds are broken, the shape of the active site changes and is distorted. If there is no active site, there is no reaction resulting in no products. If the enzyme is put in a pH that is very different from the optimum pH, it can cause the enzyme to denature.

“Enzymes are proteins that have catalytic functions” [1], “that speed up or slow down reactions”[2], “indispensable to maintenance and activity of life”[1]. They are each very specific, and will only work when a particular substrate fits in their active site. An active site is “a region on the surface of an enzyme where the substrate binds, and where the reaction occurs”[2].

Each enzyme is very specific and can only catalyze a certain reaction. The specific reaction catalyzed by an enzyme depends on the molecular structure and shape of a small area of the enzyme’s surface called the active site. The active site an attract and hold only its specific molecules. The target molecule that the enzyme attracts and acts upon is called the substrate. The substrate and the active site of the molecule must fit together very closely. Sometimes the enzyme changes its shape slightly to bring about the necessary fit.

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).

Introduction:Enzymes are made up of proteins which are produced within living cells and act as catalysts which speed up chemical reactions. They are made up of long chains of amino acids containing carbon, hydrogen, oxygen and nitrogen. Enzymes are structured to be

Enzymes are essentially proteins and will only act in an aqueous environment. An enzyme is specific for a certain reaction or

Enzymes are biological catalysts, which means it decreases activation energy in reactions. The lower activation energy in a reaction, the faster the reaction rate. Many enzymes alter their shape when they bind to the activation site. This is called induced fit, meaning for the enzyme to work to its full potential it has to change shape to binding substrate. The location of enzyme’s activation site is on the surface of the enzyme, where the binding of substrates take place. Enzyme activity can be influenced by a variety of environmental factors. If the concentration of enzyme is low, and there is a great deal of substrate, then increasing enzyme concentration results in more molecules available to convert substrates to products. Thus, increasing enzyme concentration can increase reaction rate. If substrate concentrations are low, and many of the existing enzymes are idle because of a lack of substrate, then adding enzyme will have no effect on reaction rate. Enzyme concentration affects the enzyme activity, because the more enzyme concentration the faster the reaction rate, until it hits it’s limiting factor. When substrate concentration is increased, it also increases rate of reaction. Temperature plays an important

Main Body Enzyme activity is affected by its environmental conditions. Therefore, by changing the enzyme activity it can alter the reaction caused by the enzyme. In nature, organisms will adjust the condition of enzymes so they can produce the optimal reaction rate (Prakash, Jaiswal, N. 2010). Factors that play a part in affecting the reaction rate are temperature, pH, concentration, and substrate concentration.