Enzyme Lab Report This Study Lab Report

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The solution started out as blue/black at T=0. There was no further change observed until T=3 minutes where the solution began turning a lighter color. At T=4.5 it changed to amber and began to lighten. At T=8.5 it changed to clear and the starch was used up.

Room Temperature Tube

The second test tube was allowed to maintain a room temperature of 24 degrees Celsius the room temperature tube had an almost instant reaction at T=.5 minutes. By T=1 minute, the solution had lightened significantly. At T=1.5 minutes, the starch was degraded and the solution was clear. This was by far the fastest reaction.

80 Degrees Celsius, Hot Water Bath

The first hot water bath solution was brought and maintained at a temperature of 80 degrees. The theory is that this test tube should react even faster than the previous test tube because of the added heat. At T=1.5 minutes, the solution was black. At T=2.5 minutes, the solution changed to blue. After that point, the solution no longer reacted. The starch failed to fully degrade which meant that the enzyme failed to complete the process.

100 Degrees Celsius, Hot Water Bath

The second hot water bath solution was brought and maintained at a temperature of 100 degrees Celsius at T=.5, the solution was black. The solution was failing to change, so an additional drop was added at T=2.5. By T=3 the solution changed to purple and by T=5.5 the solution lightened to blue. The solution failed to further convert the starch from that point forward.

Discussion

Enzymes are a type of protein that speeds up natural processes. Enzymes cannot react on their own, but require a substrate in order to properly react (Smith, 1997). Enzymes are very specific and will only react when combined with the proper substances.

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Otherwise, the enzyme remains inactive (Jaeger, 2004). Enzymes are so helpful, in fact, that many manufacturers now use them to break down or activate processes. For instance, the enzyme trypsin is used in baby food to predigest the food for the baby (Jiang, 2008).

While the results for the first two labs followed the prescribed thesis exactly, the result for the final lab was surprising. In fact, results for this lab were actually counter to the common theory that heat speeds up chemical reactions. While this may be true for other types of chemical reactions, it appears that enzymes work best at room temperature. According to modern enzyme research, the happens due to a process called denaturization (Silverman, 1995). Normally, enzymes are complex protein configurations with bonds formed from multiple angles throughout the three-dimensional shape. When an enzyme becomes denatured, the once tight configuration becomes loose and then straightens out completely. The result is that the protein is no longer properly built and cannot complete the normal functions. When the enzyme cannot properly function, then the chemical reactions that it completed cannot take place.

Applying this to the experiment, the enzyme reacted perfectly to the cold liquid, breaking down the starch. In the air temperature liquid, it changed very quickly. However, once the temperature became any hotter, the enzyme could no longer function and became denatured. This is shown from the fact that even after several minutes, it was entirely unable to break down the starch. Even when a second drop was added to the solution, that drop of enzyme became denatured shortly after and stopped the process again. Thus, warmer temperatures are beneficial for enzymes, but hot temperatures can cause denaturing and malfunction of the process.

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