Lab Report Enzyme Activity

Introduction

This experiment was conducted to test the reaction of an enzymes catalyst rate within a given environment. Hydrogen peroxide was introduced and given a set amount of time to react. The volume of hydrogen peroxide was measured to five milliliters before being introduced into the reaction to better find reaction rates.

An enzyme acts as a catalysis to increase the rate of chemical reactions. The activation energy required is lowered by the use of an enzyme. Substrate is used as a reactant with the enzymes. In this lab, the substrate was hydrogen peroxide. They also play a role in breaking bonds in the human digestive system.

The efficiency of an enzyme is highly dependent on its environment. An increase in temperature will

Water was heated to just above room temperature and then left to not overheat. Water was put in the test tube to submerge the liver. Then the tube was placed in the beaker of warm water for five minutes. After the five minutes, the tube was taken out and the water in the tube was poured out leaving the piece of liver. Five milliliters were added to the tube immediately to induce the reaction. Then the glowing splint test was performed.

The test for warm water used liver as the substrate. The water in the beaker was brought to a constant boil. Water was put into the tube with the liver to submerge it. Then the tube was placed into the beaker of boiling water for five minutes. When the five minutes were over, the tube was removed with tongs and the water in the tube was poured out, leaving the liver. Five milliliters were then added to the tube.

The next test, used meat as the substrate. There was no water added to the tube however, the tube was washed from the liver substrate. Five milliliters were added to the tube to induce the reaction. The glowing splint test was then

Five milliliters of hydrogen peroxide was measured in a graduated cylinder before being poured into the test tube. A reaction of one was recorded. The bubbles were small and slow to form. The reaction did not start immediately.

A second test tube was also cleaned before the potato was placed inside. Another five milliliters of peroxide was measured in the graduated cylinder and mixed with the water and potato already in the tube. No bubbles or any form of reaction was visible, being scored a zero.

Reactions measured using the zero to four scale at various temperatures of water and organized. The type of substrate and the temperature or the water used were compared to the rate of the reaction in an attempt to find a correlation between temperature and reaction rate.

Conclusion/Analysis Reactions followed a consistent pattern. Temperature alters how an enzyme reacts. As enzymes are heated they will, to a certain point, increase in productivity. If too much heat is added to the process the enzymes will denature and lose their 3D structure as well as their function. The cold water experiment showed little reaction because an enzyme does not work at peak efficiency in a cool