The Effect of Ph and Temperature for Amylase on Starch free essay sample

In biology lab we conducted an experiment in order to understand the effects of temperature and ph on enzyme activity. For this experiment you will need a spectrophotometer, a timer, starch solution, Erlenmeyer flasks, beakers, graduated cylinders, thermometers, distilled water, several cuvettes, ice, iodine solution, pipette, notepad, and pen/ pencil for recording data. Methods The lab manuel provided the basic procedures needed for the experiment. First all materials were gathered. We poured 35ml of starch solution in a beaker and added 35ml of a buffer. This flask was the reaction flask. Then we proceeded to zero the spectrophotometer by using a blank cuvette. The blank cuvette consisted of 5ml of pH and 5 ml of distilled water. Once the spectrophotometer was zeroed 1ml of amylase was added to the reaction flask. This indicated the beginning of the reaction. After every two minutes iodine would be added to stop the reaction, and someone would immediately record the absorbancy from the spectrophotometer. We will write a custom essay sample on The Effect of Ph and Temperature for Amylase on Starch or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page This was repeated in two-minute increments until twenty minutes passed. The data was recorded in a table. The same basic process was used when recording the effects of temperature. But this time the reaction flask consisted of 35ml of distilled water and 35ml of starch solution. The beaker was then placed in a heated compartment of about seventy degrees Celsius. Once the amylase was added the same process used with the first experiment was repeated and the data was recorded in a table. Introduction Enzyme kinetics is the study of rates of chemical reactions. In this experiment we set out to observe how ph and temperature would effect the reaction rate for amylase on starch. By recording the findings in the data we hope to establish an optimum ph and temperature for this reaction. Enzymes are catalytic proteins that speed up chemical reactions. They do this by lowering the activation energy of a reaction. Because proteins have three- dimensional structures they are sensitive to their environment. Temperature and pH are environmental factors that effect enzyme activity. Each enzyme has an optimum pH and temperature at which the reaction rate is greatest and the enzyme is most active. Amylase is an enzyme that can be found in the saliva of ones mouth. It plays a key role in human ingestion by acting on the starch found in the foods that humans consume. Because starch is insoluble amylase from the saliva is used to break it down into simpler form such as maltose. This allows human to absorb the starch. The optimum temperature for this reaction would be close to forty degrees Celsius which is very close to the body temperature of humans. The optimum ph for this reaction would be 7(neutral) because it is in your mouth. Different amylase enzymes are produced by other organisms. The amylase used in this experiment is actually one from barely seeds. This enzyme is harvested commercially from germinating barely seeds. The purpose of this experiment is to find the optimum temperature and ph for the reaction of this amylase on starch. This will be done by collecting data and calculating the reaction rates at different temperatures and pHs. The calculations will then be displayed on graphs where the optimum temperature and pH can be noticed. With no prior knowledge with the enzymes used in this experiment I predict that the optimum temperature will be forty five degrees Celsius and the optimum pH will be six. Based on my research the optimum temperature is about forty degrees Celsius so I am assuming that forty five degrees Celsius will be optimum. I also assume that six will be the optimum pH because it is not as acidic as the other pHs. The alternative hypotheses might be that the optimum temperature is greater than forty five degrees Celsius and the optimum pH is 4, which is the most acidic. This experiment is designed to give students first hand experience in defining optimum temperatures and pHs for enzymes. It is known that the optimal temperatures and pHs vary between enzymes. Now we must use data and calculate the optimal pH and temperatures of enzymes ourselves. The will undoubtedly be errors due to limited accuracy but the overall outcome of the experiments should be the same. These basic concepts of gathering data and expressing them in tables and charts are essential to many of the basic concepts used in biology for displaying data. It is also important that we become familiar with enzymatic activity because it has so much to with the everyday world that we live in from the food that we eat, to medicines that we take, and even in nature. Most of the processes that occur in humans are endothermic, and without enzymes lowering the activation energy t would be difficult for life to exist. Enzymatic activity is a microscopic process that effects our lives everyday. Results The data in the experiment show that the optimum pH for amylase on starch is 5 and the optimum temperature is forty-five degrees Celsius. The greatest change in delta A occurred at forty five degrees Celsius and fifty five degrees Celsius. These two values also had the highest reaction rates. However, the greatest change in delta A occurred at ph of 4. 5 and that was not the optimum pH. There was probably an error that occurred in the experiment that can explain this. Discussion The results of the experiment disproved part of my hypothesis. The results for temperature were consistent and supported my hypotheses. Although, I was correct in assuming that the optimum temperature would be forty-five degrees Celsius, I was wrong about the optimum pH. The experiment showed that the optimum pH was five and not six. This shows that the amylase works better in a slightly more acidic pH than I thought. As the amylase was breaking down the starch the outside physical environment was affecting the reaction rate. Heat causes the reaction rate to speed up and more substrates and enzymes can bind. But this is only to a certain extent. The optimal heat of a reaction is limited. After the optimum heat the enzymes will get overheated, change shape, and denature as can be observed from the graphs. The same applies for the optimal pH. After the enzyme has reached the optimal pH it will begin to denature as well. The only difference is that the reaction rates for enzymes are much more limited by pH that by temperature. At very low temperature enzymes are inactive. Heat increases enzymatic activity to its optimum point. However, pH has little or no activity until it is near the optimal ph. One can observe this by the differences of the two curves that are drawn. There some miscalculations found while graphing the data which were probably due to human error. But graphing a line of best fit helped to solve the problem. Bibliography Vliet,K. A. (ed). 1996. A laboratory Manuel for Integrated principles of Biology; Part One-BSC2010L, Ginn Press, Needham Heights, Massachusetts, Campbell, Reece. 2005. Biology, 7th edition. Benjamin/Cummings Publishing Co. , Redwood City California The Effect of Ph and Temperature for Amylase on Starch free essay sample In biology lab we conducted an experiment in order to understand the effects of temperature and ph on enzyme activity. For this experiment you will need a spectrophotometer, a timer, starch solution, Erlenmeyer flasks, beakers, graduated cylinders, thermometers, distilled water, several cuvettes, ice, iodine solution, pipette, notepad, and pen/ pencil for recording data. Methods The lab manuel provided the basic procedures needed for the experiment. First all materials were gathered. We poured 35ml of starch solution in a beaker and added 35ml of a buffer. This flask was the reaction flask. Then we proceeded to zero the spectrophotometer by using a blank cuvette. The blank cuvette consisted of 5ml of pH and 5 ml of distilled water. Once the spectrophotometer was zeroed 1ml of amylase was added to the reaction flask. This indicated the beginning of the reaction. After every two minutes iodine would be added to stop the reaction, and someone would immediately record the absorbancy from the spectrophotometer. We will write a custom essay sample on The Effect of Ph and Temperature for Amylase on Starch or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page This was repeated in two-minute increments until twenty minutes passed. The data was recorded in a table. The same basic process was used when recording the effects of temperature. But this time the reaction flask consisted of 35ml of distilled water and 35ml of starch solution. The beaker was then placed in a heated compartment of about seventy degrees Celsius. Once the amylase was added the same process used with the first experiment was repeated and the data was recorded in a table. Introduction Enzyme kinetics is the study of rates of chemical reactions. In this experiment we set out to observe how ph and temperature would effect the reaction rate for amylase on starch. By recording the findings in the data we hope to establish an optimum ph and temperature for this reaction. Enzymes are catalytic proteins that speed up chemical reactions. They do this by lowering the activation energy of a reaction. Because proteins have three- dimensional structures they are sensitive to their environment. Temperature and pH are environmental factors that effect enzyme activity. Each enzyme has an optimum pH and temperature at which the reaction rate is greatest and the enzyme is most active. Amylase is an enzyme that can be found in the saliva of ones mouth. It plays a key role in human ingestion by acting on the starch found in the foods that humans consume. Because starch is insoluble amylase from the saliva is used to break it down into simpler form such as maltose. This allows human to absorb the starch. The optimum temperature for this reaction would be close to forty degrees Celsius which is very close to the body temperature of humans. The optimum ph for this reaction would be 7(neutral) because it is in your mouth. Different amylase enzymes are produced by other organisms. The amylase used in this experiment is actually one from barely seeds. This enzyme is harvested commercially from germinating barely seeds. The purpose of this experiment is to find the optimum temperature and ph for the reaction of this amylase on starch. This will be done by collecting data and calculating the reaction rates at different temperatures and pHs. The calculations will then be displayed on graphs where the optimum temperature and pH can be noticed. With no prior knowledge with the enzymes used in this experiment I predict that the optimum temperature will be forty five degrees Celsius and the optimum pH will be six. Based on my research the optimum temperature is about forty degrees Celsius so I am assuming that forty five degrees Celsius will be optimum. I also assume that six will be the optimum pH because it is not as acidic as the other pHs. The alternative hypotheses might be that the optimum temperature is greater than forty five degrees Celsius and the optimum pH is 4, which is the most acidic. This experiment is designed to give students first hand experience in defining optimum temperatures and pHs for enzymes. It is known that the optimal temperatures and pHs vary between enzymes. Now we must use data and calculate the optimal pH and temperatures of enzymes ourselves. The will undoubtedly be errors due to limited accuracy but the overall outcome of the experiments should be the same. These basic concepts of gathering data and expressing them in tables and charts are essential to many of the basic concepts used in biology for displaying data. It is also important that we become familiar with enzymatic activity because it has so much to with the everyday world that we live in from the food that we eat, to medicines that we take, and even in nature. Most of the processes that occur in humans are endothermic, and without enzymes lowering the activation energy t would be difficult for life to exist. Enzymatic activity is a microscopic process that effects our lives everyday. Results The data in the experiment show that the optimum pH for amylase on starch is 5 and the optimum temperature is forty-five degrees Celsius. The greatest change in delta A occurred at forty five degrees Celsius and fifty five degrees Celsius. These two values also had the highest reaction rates. However, the greatest change in delta A occurred at ph of 4. 5 and that was not the optimum pH. There was probably an error that occurred in the experiment that can explain this. Discussion The results of the experiment disproved part of my hypothesis. The results for temperature were consistent and supported my hypotheses. Although, I was correct in assuming that the optimum temperature would be forty-five degrees Celsius, I was wrong about the optimum pH. The experiment showed that the optimum pH was five and not six. This shows that the amylase works better in a slightly more acidic pH than I thought. As the amylase was breaking down the starch the outside physical environment was affecting the reaction rate. Heat causes the reaction rate to speed up and more substrates and enzymes can bind. But this is only to a certain extent. The optimal heat of a reaction is limited. After the optimum heat the enzymes will get overheated, change shape, and denature as can be observed from the graphs. The same applies for the optimal pH. After the enzyme has reached the optimal pH it will begin to denature as well. The only difference is that the reaction rates for enzymes are much more limited by pH that by temperature. At very low temperature enzymes are inactive. Heat increases enzymatic activity to its optimum point. However, pH has little or no activity until it is near the optimal ph. One can observe this by the differences of the two curves that are drawn. There some miscalculations found while graphing the data which were probably due to human error. But graphing a line of best fit helped to solve the problem. Bibliography Vliet,K. A. (ed). 1996. A laboratory Manuel for Integrated principles of Biology; Part One-BSC2010L, Ginn Press, Needham Heights, Massachusetts, Campbell, Reece. 2005. Biology, 7th edition. Benjamin/Cummings Publishing Co. , Redwood City California