Enzymes

I. Introduction/Background/Purpose/Hypothesis:

BACKROUND: An enzyme is a protein that controls the chemical reactions that take place in the body. Enzymes help by catalyzing (speeding up) the reaction and intern lowering the activation energy required for the reaction to occur. Molecules called substrates bind with enzymes during reactions. However each enzyme has a very specific purpose. The shape of the active site on the enzyme’s outer layer determines that purpose, along with deciding which substrates can bind with that specific enzyme. The active site of the enzyme is the spot where the substrate binds in order for the reaction to occur. The bond formed by the enzyme and substrate is a noncovalent chemical bond that exists little more than a millisecond. However, while bonded the substrate undergoes a chemical change and is converted into the product of the reaction. While held together by this weak bond the enzyme-substrate complex is formed. When the reaction is over this complex breaks down and the product leaves the enzyme and is used by the cell. Then enzyme returns to the catalytic cycle unchanged and it waits to be used again. Any one enzyme may be used over a thousand times per second: in turn

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The test tubes at 4 and 48° C eventually slowed around the 100 seconds mark, unlike the other two test tubes. Compare the different sets of data. An average was the collected for each set of test tubes at each time interval. Those figures will be displayed in table 1. We will test temperatures ranging from 4°C to 48°C to find out if extreme temperatures either increase or decrease enzyme activity. Those temperatures were 4 °C, 23° C, 32° C, and 48° C. Comparing the color change in the substances will monitor enzyme activity. One thing should be kept in mind however, this experiment uses peroxidase as its enzyme, but every enzyme has a different optimal temperatures. Each compound will be tested several times to get an average set of data. However, at the extreme temperatures the enzyme activity will decrease. 3, using test tube number 1 (the control)

5) Mix test tubes 2 & 3 and record absorbency every twenty seconds for 2 minutes. Four different compounds will be tested, each having a different temperature, in order to determine what, if any, affect those temperatures will have on the enzyme activity. The absorbency will be monitored using a spectrophometer.

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