Enzymes Activity Essay

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Enzymes Activity i. Introduction: An enzyme is a compound that aids the chemical reaction within a cell by speeding up the rate at which it occurs. Most chemical reactions would occur too slowly for the cell to work properly without the enzyme. A metabolic reaction is any chemical change that occurs within a cell. Enzymes are proteins that are used to speed up these reactions without being consumed by them. The activity of these enzymes can be altered by changing their environments, such as enzyme specificity (speed only a reaction that contains their substrate), increasing and decreasing temperature, concentration level, or adjusting the pH level. Catalase is a catalyst that digests potent hydrogen peroxide and converts it into H2O and O. It is due to this hydrogen peroxide digesting ability that we used catalase in this experiment. To record the role that environment plays in the reaction of an enzyme, we exposed the enzyme to various changes in temperature, concentration, and pH. The null hypothesis states that there will be no difference in the reaction rate in the enzyme catalase in breaking down peroxide. The first alternative states that there will be a difference in the reaction rate in the enzyme catalase in breaking down peroxide. The second alternative states that the rate in which the enzyme catalase breaks down peroxide will be different in different temperatures. ii. Materials & Methods: First, testing the enzyme specificity. Obtain three test tubes and mark them at the 1 cm and 5 cm levels. First tube: fill it to the first mark with catalase buffered at pH 7.0, the optimum pH for catalase. Then fill the second mark with hydrogen peroxide. Swirl well to mix, and wait at least 20 seconds for bubbling to develop. Now measure the height of the bubble column (in millimeters), and record the result in the data sheet. For the second

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