Enzyme Reaction Essay

718 Words2 Pages

Research question:
What effects do different pH levels have on the rate of reaction of the enzyme?

Background information:
Catalysis is the increase in the rates of chemical reactions due to the participation of catalysts. Catalysts are substances that cause catalysis. An example of this is enzymes. Enzymes are proteins that speed up the rate of a chemical reaction of substrates. The substrates will be broken down or turn into products with the aid of enzymes. Enzymes and substrates are often said to fit like a “lock and key model” because each enzyme has exactly one matching type of substrates. This is due to the shapes of the substrates and enzymes’ activation sites. Only a specific substrate will bind to a specific enzyme due to the shape of the activation site. A different substrate will not fit in an enzyme, just like the wrong key will not fit into a lock. However, enzymes are not able to perform to their best at any given circumstance. As the activity of the enzyme is affected by its environmental conditions, changing the conditions can alter the rate of reaction by the enzyme. Naturally, the maximum rate of reaction would be produced at the enzyme’s optimum environmental conditions. For example, pepsin functions best in a strongly acidic environment because the acidic environment is the preferred condition of pepsin, allowing it to operate at its best. There are three different factors that affect the rate of chemical reactions: temperature, level of pH, and the enzyme and substrate concentration. At its optimum temperature, the enzyme will function at its best. This is the same for the other two factors. This lab will focus on one of them – the level of pH. More specifically, the relationship between the pH at which the ...

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...8. (Indicates the level of pH tested).
5. Pick one number from above.
6. Get 3 test tubes to test for one pH level (the one chosen from step 3).
7. Use a graduated cylinder to measure out 3 ml of H2O2.
8. Pour into one of the test tubes.
9. Measure and pour 3 ml of H2O2 into the remaining 2 test tubes.
10. Prepare10ml of the pH desired (should be the same as step 3).
11. Use a clean graduated cylinder to measure 3ml of step 10.
12. Pour into the test tube of step 8.
13. Use the pipette to drop about 2-3 drops of the enzyme into the same test tube.
14. Repeat step 13 with the remaining two test tubes of the same pH.
15. Wait 3 minutes for the reaction to occur.
16. Observe and measure, using a ruler, the height of O2 gas produced from the reaction.
17. Repeat steps 5-15, but with a different number for step 5.
18. Repeat step 17, with the last number (level of pH).

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