Potato Enzyme Lab

bonds between H2O2, it is releasing energy in the form of heat which is reason for the warmth of

Enzymes are biological catalysts that speed up chemical reactions, without being used up or changed. Catalase is a globular protein molecule that is found in all living cells. A globular protein is a protein with its molecules curled up into a 'ball' shape. All enzymes have an active site. This is where another molecule(s) can bind with the enzyme. This molecule is known as the substrate. When the substrate binds with the enzyme, a product is produced. Enzymes are specific to their substrate, because the shape of their active site will only fit the shape of their substrate. It is said that the substrate is complimentary to their substrate.

Background and Introduction: Enzymes are proteins that process substrates, which is the chemical molecule that enzymes work on to make products. Enzyme purpose is to increase the rate of activity and speed up chemical reaction in a form of biological catalysts. The enzymes specialize in lowering the activation energy to start the process. Enzymes are very specific in their process, each substrate is designed to fit with a specific substrate and the enzyme and substrate link at the active site. The binding of a substrate to the active site of an enzyme is a very specific interaction. Active sites are clefts or grooves on the surface of an enzyme, usually composed of amino acids from different parts of the polypeptide chain that are brought together in the tertiary structure of the folded protein. Substrates initially bind to the active site by noncovalent interactions, including hydrogen bonds, ionic bonds, and hydrophobic interactions. Once a substrate is bound to the active site of an enzyme, multiple mechanisms can accelerate its conversion to the product of the reaction. But sometimes, these enzymes fail or succeed to increase the rate of action because of various factors that limit the action. These factors can be known as temperature, acidity levels (pH), enzyme and/or substrate concentration, etc. In this experiment, it will be tested how much of an effect

To make the buffer solution you need 0.2 mol dm-3 of Na2HPO4 and 0.1mol dm-3 of citric acid this will give 100cm3 of buffer. Here is how to get the different pH in the buffer solutions:

What is an enzyme? An enzyme is a biological catalyst that can speed up a chemical reaction by lowering the activation energy. Typically the lower the activation energy the faster the reaction will be. It's made up of a plethora of different types of proteins that forms into a 3D like shape. Enzymes are very important to the human body, because it keeps the chemical activity that undergoes in our body at a low temperature.

“Enzymes are proteins that have catalytic functions” [1], “that speed up or slow down reactions”[2], “indispensable to maintenance and activity of life”[1]. They are each very specific, and will only work when a particular substrate fits in their active site. An active site is “a region on the surface of an enzyme where the substrate binds, and where the reaction occurs”[2].

In this lab we explore an enzymes activity and how it can be affected by changes to its environment. An enzyme is a protein and is a catalyst to chemical reactions. It helps accelerate reactions by lowering the activation energy, which is needed for reactions in cells to progress at a higher rate. Activation energy is the minimum amount of energy needed for a chemical reaction to occur, yielding products from a given set of reactants. (Unit 7: Enzymes lab)

3 potatoes were each placed in different flasks. Then, 2ml of Iodine was placed in each one. 8 ml of water was then added to the flasks. These potatoes were the control (raw) potatoes and the flasks were labelled likewise. 3 more pieces of potato, were then cooked and set aside to cool.

Enzymes are proteins catalysts, in which the enzyme speeds up reactions. Enzymes speed up reactions by lowering the activation energy. The enzyme or catalyst is not consumed in the reaction; therefore, the enzyme can be reused (Areda, 2017). Activation energy is the energy needed to start a chemical reaction (Reece, 2017). In other words, the activation energy is kind of like a barrier, in which enzymes help decrease the amount of energy needed to start the chemical reactions. Enzymes have unique shapes and one part of the enzyme that has a specific shape is the active site. The active site is where the substrate (reactant) binds with the enzyme. When the enzyme and substrate attach they form what is know as the enzyme-substrate complex. This

To create the standard curve we used the spectrophotometer to calculate the absorbance of light and we used that variable on the y-axis. Then we took the given starch concentrations of the tubes and used them on the x-axis. Finally we plotted our points and used the finalized standard curve to determine the starch concentration in our controlled and treated experiments. The purpose of the standard curve is to show the relationship between the absorbance of light in the spectrophotometer and the concentration of starch in the tubes. With the use of the standard curve, it is possible to find the concentration of starch by taking the reading off of the spectrophotometer and finding it on the y-axis.

The enzyme catechol oxidase, extracted from masticated potato (Solanum tuberosum) lowers activation energy, as it is a catalyst. This enzyme can react with catechol to produce benzoquinone and water. Catechol oxidase is tested against a multitude of phosphate buffers, acidic, neutral and basic pH values, and chilled temperatures to hot temperatures. The purposes of these testes were to determine the optimal temperature and pHs at which catechol oxidase performs at. The method to measure results was the usage of a spectrophotometer (Vernier Spectrouis Plus). The spectrophotometer measures the absorbance levels of the pigment excreted when catechol oxidase undergoes a reaction. The high the absorbance, the more products produced and vise versa. The highest absorbance for the catechol oxidase submitted to different temperatures measured an average 0.6018 nm, when at 20 C. The highest absorbance for the catechol oxidase submitted to different pH values measured two averages of 0.658 at pH 6 and 0.6464 at pH 7. The conclusion taken from the available data explains that the optimal pH for catechol oxidase was between pH 6 and 7 and the optimal temperature was at room temperature at 20C.

The hypothesis for this experiment was that at 0m and at .2m the potato core was going to swell making the surroundings it was in hypotonic. For .4m it was stated that the potato core would stay the same, making the surroundings it was in isotonic. For that last three solutions, .6m, .8m, and 1m, it was thought that they would shrink, so that would mean that that the environment that they were placed in was hypertonic. Although these

1. 5 sucrose solutions were made of increasing molarity: 0.2 M, 0.4 M, 0.6 M, 0.8 M, 1.0M. 2. 50 mL of each unknown solution were poured into 5 separate cups. A slice of potato was placed into 5 equal cylinders. 3. The mass of the 5 potato cylinders were then recorded. 4. The cylinders were placed into the foam cups with solution and covered with plastic wrap. It is to be left overnight. 5. The room temperature was recorded in Celsius. 6. The cylinders are then to be removed from the cups and carefully blotted of any excess solution. 7. The mass of the potato cylinders were recorded afterwards.

Enzymes are proteins that act as catalysts and help reactions take place. In short, enzymes reduce the energy needed for a reaction to take place, permitting a reaction to take place more easily. Some enzymes are shape specific and reduce the energy for certain reactions. Enzymes have unique folds of the amino acid chain which result in specifically shaped active sites (Frankova Fry 2013). When substrates fit in the active site of an enzyme, then it is able to catalyze the reaction. Enzyme activity is affected by the concentrations of the enzymes and substrate present (Worthington 2010). As the incidence of enzyme increases, the rate of reaction increases. Additionally, as the incidence of substrate increases so does the rate of reaction.

First I gather all my materials needed for the experiment (see materials list). Second I peel and slice potatoes weigh each potato in grams. Get these slices to weigh the same in mass because if they vary to much in mass that could affect the results of the experiment. Third I place each potato in its own beaker. Fourth once the potatoes are placed in beakers I make sure to place enough solution to fully cover the potato. Each beaker should have a different amount of