Enzyme Investigation

GCSE: Chemistry

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Enzymes are classified into several broad categories, such as hydrolytic, oxidising, and reducing, depending on the type of reaction they control. Hydrolytic enzymes accelerate reactions in which a substance is broken down into simpler compounds through reaction with water molecules. Oxidising enzymes, known as oxidises, accelerate oxidation reactions; reducing enzymes speed up reduction reactions, in which oxygen is removed. Many other enzymes catalyse other types of reactions.
Individual enzymes are named by adding ASE to the name of the substrate with which they react. The enzyme that controls urea decomposition is called urease; those that control protein hydrolyses are known as proteinases. Some enzymes, such as the proteinases trypsin and pepsin, retain the names used before this nomenclature was adopted.

Structure and Function of an Enzyme
Enzymes are large proteins that speed up chemical reactions. In their globular structure, one or more polypeptide chains twist and fold, bringing together a small number of amino acids to form the active site, or the location on the enzyme where the substrate binds and the reaction takes place. Enzyme and substrate fail to bind if their shapes do not match exactly.
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At first, I used 2; then I went onto 4, and so on up to 12. (2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12) I found out that the ideal number of discs was 8 so I am going to use 8 in my experiment of varying temperature.
Results of prelim work:

No. of Potatoes
(amount) Time to reach 5cm3
(seconds)
4 41.4
6 33.2
8 30.4
10 20.1
12 18.4
Apparatus: I have decided to use the following equipment in order to carry out my experiment:
-Water Baths
-Ice Baths
-Test Tube/Boiling tube
-10 cm3 Measuring cylinder
-2 cm3 of Hydrogen Peroxide
-1 cm of circular potato chips
-Manometer
-Borer
-Stopwatch
Methods: At first, I will have to get the potato so I will use a Borer to cut a cylinder of potato out of the whole one and from there I will cut up the potato cylinder into segments of 1 cm using a razor. I will then put them into a test tube containing 10 cm3 of pH.7 buffer solution and place it in their designated water/ice baths along with the 10 cm3 of Hydrogen Peroxide.
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