The Effect of Changing the Concentration of the Enzyme Catalyst on the Rate of Reaction on Hydrogen Peroxide

The Effect of Changing the Concentration of the Enzyme Catalyst on the Rate of Reaction on Hydrogen Peroxide

Planning

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Hydrogen Peroxide Water + Oxygen

2H2O2 2H2O + O2

Introduction - Background Information

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To help me understand what a chemical reaction is or involves I did

some research.

A chemical reaction is a process by which atoms or groups of atoms are

redistributed, resulting in a change in the molecular composition of

substances.

Enzymes are a biological catalyst, which controls a cellular reaction,

they are proteins that act as a catalyst. A catalyst is a substance

that speeds up a reaction but does not get used up. It works by

reducing the Activation Energy, which is the minimum energy needed for

a reaction to happen. A catalyst can make a reaction occur even if it

would not happen other wise. Enzymes only affect the speed at which a

product is formed, not how much is produced. Enzymes are specific,

this means that once an enzyme has acted on one substance it will not

act on a different one.

There are two reactions which involve enzymes they are anabolic and

catabolic. An anabolic reaction is a build up of smaller molecules

into larger molecules. A catabolic reaction is the speeding up of the

reaction time but is the breaking down of a substance. I will be

focusing on the catabolic reaction. To explain the reaction there is a

method called the lock and key theory:

The Collision Theory - this is when reacting molecules collide with

each other with enough energy to react. Surface area, temperature,

concentration and the use of an enzyme affect the collision theory.

All of these factors increase the rate of reaction if you increase

them. If there is a larger surface area then the molecules are exposed

and are more available to react as there are more of them. This means

there will be more collisions so a faster reaction.

If you increase the temperature this will make the molecules move more