Investigating Enzyme Activity Essay

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.

The topic of this lab is on biochemistry.This experiment was conducted to show how cells prevent the build of hydrogen peroxide in tissues. My group consisted of Lekha, Ruth, and Jason. There were used two different concentrations of hydrogen peroxide through this experiment , 1.5% and 3%. By testing two different types it is easier to understand how the H2O2 and catalase react with one another. To do this both the yeast, which was our catalase, and H2O2 were mixed together in a beaker. Each concentration was tested out twice for more accurate results . 1.5% concentrated H2O2 had an average reaction rate of 10.5 seconds while 3% concentrated H2O2 had an average reaction rate of 7.5 seconds. From this experiment we learned that by increasing the concentration of H2O2 and chemically combining it with a catalase it will speed up the reaction. Enzymes speed up chemical reactions . The independent variable in this experiment was the concentration of the H2O2. Some key vocabulary words are Catalase, enzyme, hydrogen peroxide ( H2O2), and concentration.

This would be a suitable independent variable as it would be easy to change ourselves. If the concentration of the substrate increases the faster the rate of reaction, as more hydrogen peroxide molecules can collide with catalase molecules, so more reactions will take place. As you increase the concentration of substrate this will continue to occur up to a point where all the active sites on the enzyme are being used.

Effect of pH on Enzyme Activity. 1. Dependent Variable. amount of product (glucose and fructose) produced 2. Independent Variable. pH 3. Controlled Variables. temperature; amount of substrate (sucrose) present; sucrase + sucrose incubation time

If different amounts of enzyme solution are added to the hydrogen peroxide, then the highest amount of enzymes will have the greatest reaction rate because enzymes catalyze reactions, meaning more oxygen will be produced quicker.

Lab six requires students to observe the effects of pH and enzyme concentration on catecholase activity. Enzymes are organic catalysts that can affect the rate of a chemical reaction depending on the pH level and the concentration of the enzyme. As pH comes closer to a neutral pH the enzyme is at its greatest effectiveness. Also at the absorbance of a slope of 0.0122 the enzyme is affected greatly. The pH effect on enzymes can be tested by trying each pH level with a pH buffer of the same pH as labeled as the test tube and 1mL of potato juice, water, and catechol. This is all mixed together and put in the spectrophotometer to test how much is being absorbed at 420nm. As the effect on enzyme concentration can be tested almost the same way. This part of the exercise uses different amounts of pH 7-phosphate buffer and potato juice, and 1mL of catechol mixed together in a test tube. Each substance is put in the spectrophotometer at a wavelength set tot 420nm. The results are put down for every minute up to six minutes to see how enzyme concentration affects reaction rate. The results show that the pH 8 (0.494) affects the enzyme more than a pH of 4 (0.249), 6 (0.371), 7 (0.456), and 10 (0.126). Also the absorbance is greatest at a slope of 0.0122 with test tube C that has more effect on the reaction rate, than test tube A, B, and D.

Background and Introduction: Enzymes are proteins that process substrates, which is the chemical molecule that enzymes work on to make products. Enzyme purpose is to increase the rate of activity and speed up chemical reaction in a form of biological catalysts. The enzymes specialize in lowering the activation energy to start the process. Enzymes are very specific in their process, each substrate is designed to fit with a specific substrate and the enzyme and substrate link at the active site. The binding of a substrate to the active site of an enzyme is a very specific interaction. Active sites are clefts or grooves on the surface of an enzyme, usually composed of amino acids from different parts of the polypeptide chain that are brought together in the tertiary structure of the folded protein. Substrates initially bind to the active site by noncovalent interactions, including hydrogen bonds, ionic bonds, and hydrophobic interactions. Once a substrate is bound to the active site of an enzyme, multiple mechanisms can accelerate its conversion to the product of the reaction. But sometimes, these enzymes fail or succeed to increase the rate of action because of various factors that limit the action. These factors can be known as temperature, acidity levels (pH), enzyme and/or substrate concentration, etc. In this experiment, it will be tested how much of an effect

2. We measured 1 mL of turnip peroxidase (the enzyme) and 3 mL of neutral buffer (pH corresponding to the test tube number i.e. pH 5 in test tube 5) with a syringe and disposed it into tubes 3, 5, 6, 7, 8, and 10

There were three test tubes in which the experiment was held. A relatively equal sized portion of raw potato (this contained the enzyme [a biological catalyst] hydrogen peroxidase) was placed in each tube. Then, enough water to cover the potato was added. Proceeding this, each of the test tubes were assigned a temperature; cold, room temperature or warm (this was written on the tag so that they were not confused). The test tube destinated ‘cold’ was placed in a ice bath for five minutes. At the same time, the ‘hot’ test tube was placed in a hot water bath for five minutes. Meanwhile, the room temperature test tube sat at room temperature for five minutes. When the five minutes were over, the test tubes were returned to the rack (so that they were able to be observed). Then, the test tubes were allowed to sit at room temperature for five more minutes. Once that period of time was over, 2 ml of hydrogen peroxide (the substrate) was added to each tube.

We did this to test which test tube would contain the highest concentration of glucose. What we wanted to know was if the lactase would affect the function of the enzyme. Our hypothesis is the lactase functions within a narrow pH and that will change in pH would affect the function of the enzyme. We predict that if we change the environmental factors it will have an effect the function of the enzyme if the pH is outside the range in its optimum activity. Our hypothesis was then proven because the reaction only occurred in a neutral and acidic state of pH, not basic. Which means the enzymes prime ability to function is a neutral, and acidic pH range.

How pH Affects the Rate of Enzyme Activity Research question What is the effect of pH on oxygen gas production in a Spinach catalase reaction, with substrate hydrogen peroxide, measured using the water displacement method? Introduction Hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) is a by-product of respiration and is made in all living cells. It is harmful and must be removed as soon as it is produced in the cell. Cells make the enzyme catalase to remove hydrogen peroxide by catalysing the decomposition of hydrogen peroxide to water and oxygen.

Enzymes are very specific in nature, which helps them in reactions. When an enzyme recognizes its specific substrate, the

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.

Based on the graph derived from the experiment conducted, at concentration of 4%, 0.62 cm3 of oxygen was being produced per second; at 8%, 1.6 cm3 was being produced per second; at 12%, 2.15 cm3 was being produced per second; at 16%, 3.02 cm3 was being produced per second; at 20%, 3.31 cm3 was being produced per second. The standard deviation for the amount of oxygen produced per second is approximately 1.31 cm3. As the Hydrogen Peroxide concentration increases, the reaction rate rises directly proportionally until it reaches about 16%. If the Hydrogen Peroxide concentration is doubled, so does the reaction rate.

Enzymes act as catalysts to normalize the speed of the many chemical reactions involved in the Metabolism, of living organisms (2016). Because the enzyme-substrate results from weak bonds that require precise positioning of specific amino acid side chains in the active site, any external factors that affect formation of these bonds can significantly affect enzyme function. These factors include pH, ionic strength, temperature, and the chemical environment. Throughout the experiment, peroxidase, hydrogen peroxide and guaiacol was used to test each of the hypotheses (Lab Manual). This experiment is able to capture the essence of how critical it is for an enzyme to perform in its optimal environment.