Catalase Lab Report

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The Effect of pH on the Activity of Catalase

Planning Experimental Work

Secondary Resources

Catalase is a type of enzyme found in different types of foods such as potatoes, apples and livers. It speeds up the disintegration of hydrogen peroxide into water because of the molecule of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) but it remains unchanged at the end of the reaction. 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 …show more content…

For a reaction to occur, particles must collide. If the collision causes a chemical change it is referred to as a fruitful collision. (Hutchinson Educational Encyclopaedia, 2000)

Enzymes increase the rate of exergonic reactions by decreasing the activation energy of the reaction. Exergonic reactions are those in which the free energy of the concluding state is lower than the free energy of the opening state.

These reactions take place unexpectedly. However, the rate of an unexpected reaction may not be very great. This is because an energy hurdle must first be defeated.

This hurdle is called the activation energy of the reaction.

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By decreasing the activation energy, more substrate is changed to product in a certain amount of time. That is, the enzyme increases the rate of the reaction.

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The activity of catalase can be measured by finding the rate of which the oxygen gas is released from the breakdown of Hydrogen Peroxide.

The books and resources I used …show more content…

According to the graph, despite the fact that there are no anomalous results, if I had conducted the experiment a few more times then I would've obtained at least one or two unusual results.

I conclude that the effect of pH on the activity of Catalase may be increased/quickened by using a stronger Buffer Solution; in this case pH 8.4. Increasing the concentration means keeping all of the other substances at a constant concentration. This means there are more particles of the Buffer Solution available in the reaction, and were altered to get a bunch of results.

I am able to show this through the stronger and weaker Buffer Solutions on my table and graphs. 15ml of Buffer Solution at pH 8.4 produced the amount of oxygen required in 0.44cm³ per second. On the other hand, 15ml of Buffer Solution at pH 4.4 produced this amount of oxygen in 1.45cm³ per second. We can clearly see that when the Buffer Solution's pH concentration is increased, this has the same effect on the speed of the reaction, which is the effect of pH on the

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