Enzyme Catalysis Lab (October 9, 2014)
Abstract
Human cells are in a continual process of creating numerous chemicals in order for the body to function. However, many of these chemicals are poisonous. To counteract this, cells use enzymes to break down poisonous materials into harmless substances for our cells to use. Enzymes are proteins that catalyze reactions, and each enzyme can only undergo a reaction specific to that single enzyme. From our experiment, we learned that enzymes can be constantly reused, although pH levels, amounts of concentration, and temperature are variables that can alter the effectiveness of an enzyme.
Introduction
Our cell are constantly making poisonous chemicals, but these chemicals don’t cause us any trouble because of our body's natural enzymes break down those poisonous chemicals into harmless substances. Enzymes are a type of protein that can help speed up the rate of reaction, which would normally occur at a much slower pace. The enzymes that we observe for this experiment are specifically catalase, which speeds up the reaction rate for hydrogen peroxide creating two substances. water and oxygen.
Methods
This study was conducted at New Tech High School, in Kim Wootton’s Biology classroom, on October 7, 2014. On day one of our experiment we
Results
Potato and Hydrogen peroxide+soap, 4 reaction rate, pH=8
Potato and Hydrogen peroxide, 3 reaction rate pH=6
Potato and hydrogen peroxide+HCL, 1 reaction rate, pH 4
Discussion
Throughout this experiment and after future research, we observed that oxygen is and was being released when the enzyme was catalyzed (the liver and potato). Because this reaction gave off heat (the test tube got warmer when we felt it), we knew to consider it as an exothermic reaction. The liquid that we transferred to a clean test tube from the liver in Part A was composed of excess liver particles (potentially grease) and water. We hypothesized that if we add more liver to the liquid, there would be a high possibility that there would be more bubbling. The reaction rate that was displayed during the process was 1 and when we added 2ml of hydrogen peroxide to the remaining test tube, the reaction rate rose to a level 5. From our data we can see that catalase is reusable because with this experiment, the reaction occurred twice. When testing to see if catalase was found in tissues other than liver, we found that it is found in another tissue; apple.
In order to determine the optimal pH of an enzyme, instead of using only hydrogen peroxide, we could use a variety of acids and bases that vary in pH levels and determined the reaction rate of each. By finding the acid or base with the highest reaction rate, we will be able to pinpoint the pH level at which enzymes function the best. Our body has many different areas that vary in pH levels. For example, the stomach’s acidity level is much lower than the majority of our body. By applying the findings of this new experiment to the real world, we can understand how enzymes function in different parts of our body and understand our functions better.
Conclusion
Enzymes are in charge of the process that catalyze important reactions for our bodies. In analyzing our results from this experiment, we have a deeper understanding of how enzymes function and what factors affect their reaction. Furthermore, enzymes can continually be reused and produce the same reaction. However, from the part c of our experiment, the optimal pH is 7 and when the pH deviates from the optimal point, the reaction slowed down because of the denaturing of the enzymes.
Sources Cited
Wootton, K. (2014). Enzyme Lab. Retrieved from https://echo.newtechnetwork.org/sites/default/files/new_uploads/20141006/_1412625441_Enzyme%20Lab.docx