Enzymes are proteins that have a catalytic action in living organisms. A catalyst is a chemical compound that increases the rate of reaction “…without increasing the amount of products involved and without themselves being altered during the reaction”. Therefore, as enzymes are not altered during the chemical reaction, they are reusable. However, enzymes do not increase the amount of final product, they only increase the rate of reaction. For a biochemical reaction to take place a substrate must bind to the active site of an enzyme. A substrate is a molecule that an enzyme acts upon. The enzyme and the substrate have unique three-dimensional shapes, specific for their function, which allows binding of complementary enzymes and substrates. Binding occurs at the active site of the enzyme, which is complementary in shape to the substrate. If the shape of the active site is changed, and is no longer complementary, the substrate will be unable to bind to the enzyme effectively. Enzyme function may be affected by many factors, including pH, temperature and the presence of chemical inhibitors. The main factor being tested in this investigation is the concentration of hydrogen peroxide on the enzyme catalase.
〖2H〗_2 O_2 □(→┴catalase )〖2H〗_2 O+O_2
hydrogen peroxide□(→┴catalase ) water+oxygen
Equation 1: Decomposition of hydrogen peroxide into water
…show more content…
Catalase is found in animal cells and abundantly in the liver cells. Catalase helps to control the levels of hydrogen peroxide in the body. Hydrogen peroxide is a strong oxidiser and, if hydrogen peroxide levels are not controlled, it can damage the cells and the cell organelle function. Hydrogen peroxide oxidises transition metals, which damages and inactivates enzymes that contain iron, which are important for biological function. Hence, catalase is a very important enzyme to help maintain healthy cells and a healthy
Living organisms undergo chemical reactions with the help of unique proteins known as enzymes. Enzymes significantly assist in these processes by accelerating the rate of reaction in order to maintain life in the organism. Without enzymes, an organism would not be able to survive as long, because its chemical reactions would be too slow to prolong life. The properties and functions of enzymes during chemical reactions can help analyze the activity of the specific enzyme catalase, which can be found in bovine liver and yeast. Our hypothesis regarding enzyme activity is that the aspects of biology and environmental factors contribute to the different enzyme activities between bovine liver and yeast.
Catalase is a common enzyme that is produced in all living organisms. All living organisms are made up of cells and within the cells, enzymes function to increase the rate of chemical reactions. Enzymes function to create the same reactions using a lower amount of energy. The reactions of catalase play an important role to life, for example, it breaks down hydrogen peroxide into oxygen and water. Our group developed an experiment to test the rate of reaction of catalase in whole carrots and pinto beans with various concentrations of hydrogen peroxide. Almost all enzymes are proteins and proteins are made up of amino acids. The areas within an enzyme speed up the chemical reactions which are known as the active sites, and are also where the
The first step to the unknown is selecting an actual organism. The best way to select a culture is based on a high-quality distribution. Equally important, shaking up the broth tube facilitates in the distribution. Upon selection, a gram check for purity is performed. Step by step instructions for this procedure can be found in Benson’s, Microbiological Applications p. 99. Furthermore, an aseptic technique must be performed for this test and the entire tests following the unknown. The purpose of this test is to differentiate between gram positive and gram-negative bacteria. The key indicator of gram-positive bacteria is a purple stain and a pink stain for gram-negative bacteria. A slide is viewed with a microscope under oil immersion. Equally
The purpose of this experiment was to determine the effects that varying temperatures, enzyme concentration, and pH had on catalase activity.
Background information:. Enzyme Enzymes are protein molecules that act as the biological catalysts. A Catalyst is a molecule which can speed up chemical reactions but remains unchanged at the end of the reaction. Enzymes catalyze most of the metabolic reactions that take place within a living organism. They speed up the metabolic reactions by lowering the amount of energy.
When I found out I qualified to be a candidate for the NJHS, I knew I had to take this chance. This group is made up of people who depict leadership, character, citizenship, academic success, and service and I would love to join. These characteristics wouldn't just be valuable for a candidate to have, but for everyone to have to exceed in life. If I were to be in the National Junior Honor Society, it would give me an opportunity to ameliorate my future and motivate me to do better.
Introduction / Background Information. This is an experiment to examine how the concentration of the substrate Hydrogen Peroxide (H2O2) affects the rate of reaction of the enzyme Catalase. In this experiment I will be using yeast as a source of catalase. Enzymes are catalysts which speed up specific reactions. Enzymes such as catalase are protein molecules, which speed up a specific reaction within the cell.
Enzymes have the ability to act on a small group of chemically similar substances. Enzymes are very specific, in the sense that each enzyme is limited to interact with only one set of reactants; the reactants are referred to as substrates. Substrates of an enzyme are the chemicals altered by enzyme-catalysed reactions. The extreme specific nature of enzymes are because of the complicated three-dimensional shape, which is due to the particular way the amino acid chain of proteins folds.
“‘They score! Henderson has scored for Canada!’” Foster Hewitt wordlessly described” (Pelletier) when Paul Henderson scored the series-winning goal. This allowed Canada to win the 1972 Summit Series, a moment that no one would ever forget since it all happened during the climax of the Cold War. Prior to this, the Soviets had won the previous three Olympic gold metals since Canada could not use its NHL players. Thus, this provided Canada with the chance to play hockey against the USSR using its best players. This raised the question: if Canada were able to send its best players, would it still be enough to beat the Soviets? Everyone in Canada was certain that the Soviets would not win a single game, but little did they know they underestimated the extent of the Soviets abilities. Tied in the last few minutes of game eight, Canada had to score or they would lose the series. However, when Paul Henderson scored the game-winning goal, never before had a single sporting event meant so much to Canadians. Therefore, Paul Henderson’s goal is a defining moment for Canada in the twentieth century becauseit provided Canada with the opportunity to evolve hockey, proved that Canada and our democratic society were superior to the USSR and their communist society, and brought citizens together to unify Canada as a nation.
In this lab, it was determined how the rate of an enzyme-catalyzed reaction is affected by physical factors such as enzyme concentration, temperature, and substrate concentration affect. The question of what factors influence enzyme activity can be answered by the results of peroxidase activity and its relation to temperature and whether or not hydroxylamine causes a reaction change with enzyme activity. An enzyme is a protein produced by a living organism that serves as a biological catalyst. A catalyst is a substance that speeds up the rate of a chemical reaction and does so by lowering the activation energy of a reaction. With that energy reactants are brought together so that products can be formed.
The reason for this is that the energy being supplied to the enzyme begins to effect its stability. The energy supplied begins to make the atoms which make up the enzyme move and vibrate rapidly, at a certain point the enzyme atoms are vibrating at such a rate that the bonds that hold the active site together, such as the disulphide and hydrogen bonds are broken and the shape of the active site changed. This is vital as the Hydrogen peroxide substrate can no longer bind with the catalase enzyme and react. The activity of the catalase is dependent on the balance of increasing
Purpose: The purpose of this lab is to explore the different factors which effect enzyme activity and the rates of reaction, such as particle size and temperature.
This is a type of reaction where a molecule is broken down into smaller pieces. It is called an anabolic reaction. This experiment is the breakdown of hydrogen peroxide to form water and oxygen in the air. Catalase is found in a cell organelle called the peroxisome. Peroxisomes in animal cells are occupied in the decomposition of
Enzymes are types of proteins that work as a substance to help speed up a chemical reaction (Madar & Windelspecht, 104). There are three factors that help enzyme activity increase in speed. The three factors that speed up the activity of enzymes are concentration, an increase in temperature, and a preferred pH environment. Whether or not the reaction continues to move forward is not up to the enzyme, instead the reaction is dependent on a reaction’s free energy. These enzymatic reactions have reactants referred to as substrates. Enzymes do much more than create substrates; enzymes actually work with the substrate in a reaction (Madar &Windelspecht, 106). For reactions in a cell it is important that a specific enzyme is present during the process. For example, lactase must be able to collaborate with lactose in order to break it down (Madar & Windelspecht, 105).
Without enzymes, reactions wouldn’t occur and living organisms would die. For instance, the enzyme in the stomach breaks down large molecules to smaller molecules to absorb nutrition faster. Researchers experimented with enzyme activity with a potato extract. Researchers will test enzyme activity by increasing and decreasing pH levels, lowering and increasing temperature, and substrate concentration effects. In the first experiment, researchers hypothesized whether different pH levels would change how much Benzoquinone are created and how will the enzymes function in neutral pH levels than higher and lower levels. Researchers used potato extract and different levels of pH to test their hypothesis. In addition, researchers questioned at what temperature does the greatest amount of potato extract enzyme activity take place in. Researchers then hypothesized that the results would indicate the greatest amount of potato enzyme activity level will take place in room temperature. In this experiment, researchers used potato extract and different temperature levels to test the hypothesis. Moreover, researchers wanted to test the color intensity scale and how specific catechol oxidase is for catechol. In this experiment, researchers used dH2O, catechol solution, hydroquinone, and potato extract. Lastly, researchers tested the substrate concentration and how it has an effect on enzyme activity. In this experiment researchers used different measurements of catechol and 1cm of potato extract. Researchers hypothesized that the increase o substrate would level out the enzyme activity