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Discussion : Catalase is a common enzyme which is found in almost all living organisms that is exposed to oxygen. Catalase catalyzes the decomposition of hydrogen peroxide to water and oxygen which can be shown in the equation : 2H2O2 → 2H2O + O2. Catalase enzyme converts the hydrogen peroxide to water and oxygen. (Chidrawi, Robson, & Hollis, 2008) Catalase is a tetramer of four polypeptide chains, with each more than 500 amino acids long. It comprises of four porphyrin heme(iron) groups that enables the enzyme to react with the hydrogen peroxide. (Boon, Downs, & Marcey, 1997-2000) Two experiments were conducted to investigate the effects of catalase concentration on hydrogen peroxide and the enzymatic effects of materials on hydrogen peroxide respectively.

The effects of catalase concentration was studied by using potato samples of different amounts, which was 0,8cm x 0.8cm x 0.5cm that was tested with hydrogen peroxide. Potato was chosen due to its high presence of catalase. Potato is involved in photorespiration which is a process that prevents an unwanted ratio of absorbed light to water consumption from producing hydrogen peroxide, which can oxidize plant matter and kill the plant. Catalase converts the hydrogen peroxide into water and oxygen which can be seen through the formation of gas bubbles. The enzymatic effects of materials on hydrogen peroxide was conducted with liver, manganese dioxide, and potato samples once again. Liver was chosen because it is to represent the presence of catalase in the body and the potato in the plants. Manganese peroxide was chosen due to its availability to react with hydrogen peroxide to produce oxygen. When involving manganese dioxide, the equation formed is 2H2O2+ MNO2 -2H2O + O2, hence the product formed is water and oxygen because manganese does not take part in the reaction. It only acts as a catalyst that speeds up the reaction. Both of the experiment demonstrated the principle of catalase catalyzing the...

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