The Effect of Certain Conditions on the Efficiency of Enzymes

Have a little read: ... The Effect of Certain Conditions on the Efficiency of Enzymes Daniel Peterson Purpose To investigate the best conditions for the breakdown of H202 (Hydrogen Peroxide) by enzymes. Hypothesis If the enzymes in liver and potato break down H202 in various conditions of pH, temperature, and surface area, then the fastest reaction will be with neutral pH, warm temperature, and ground up (surface area). Procedure Guidelines In this lab, all the reactions are done in a 24-spot spot plate. Each spot is filled about halfway with H202, and then the substrate is added. The temperature and pH were then measured as needed. To see the outcomes of all the reactions, look at the attached data chart. For results see attached diagrams and graphs. Discussion An enzyme is an organic substance that increases the speed of a reaction. In this lab the enzymes have 3 conditions: pH, temperature, and surface area. Both the liver and the potato contain catalase. A substrate is the substance that the enzyme is reacting upon. The substrate fits into the enzyme's active site, where it is helped along. If an enzyme denatures, it loses its shape, which means that the substrate will not fit anymore, so the enzyme becomes useless. The substrate of the enzyme being tested is H202. Here is the reaction: H202 -->H20 + O2. This certain enzyme, catalase, would not work on any other chemical because its active site is specifically shaped for H202. Any other chemical would not fit into the active site. Catalysts are a more general category than enzymes. Catalysts are substances that reduce the activation energy of a reaction. Enzymes are catalysts made out of proteins. Not all catalysts are organic, but all enzymes are. MnO2 was a catalyst because it speeded up the reaction. Sand was not a catalyst because it did nothing. Neither are enzymes because they are not organic. Sand shows how the reaction would go all by itself. Anything faster than that would show some improvement from the conditions. The chunk of liver and potato were the basic reactions in this lab. They are the control for many of the other conditions. The chunk of liver did quite well with a score of 3. The chunk of potato however only got 1.5. In the ground vs. chunk reactions, the ground potato did very well compared with the chunk of potato. However, the ground liver did not do as well as the chunk of liver. This was probably