LABORATORY EXERCISE 3
The Effects of pH on Enzyme Activity Liver Cells
Introduction
Enzymes are proteins which are made up of unique amino acids which in turn are coded
for by the cells or organism's DNA.(Boise State University Department of Biological Sciences 2009, Concepts of Biology Laboratory Manual, 5th Edition) Enzymes are catalysts that literally fold into a specific 3d structure, to make space for an active site. Enzymes are very specific and various factors can affect the catalytic ability of an enzyme. If you change the pH of an enzyme it loses shape and becomes non-functional thus affecting its ability as a catalyst.
Catalase is a digestive enzyme present in all life forms that speeds up the separation of water into hydrogen peroxide and oxygen.
The liver of many animals produce high amounts of catalase. Catalase from beef liver will be used for this study.
The purpose of this experiment is to analyze the effects of different pH levels on Enzymes.
Hypotheses:
As the pH levels increases to 8, it will not have any different affect than a pH level of 7.
Discussion
The results of the experiment show that there is a definite difference in the functioning of catalase at various pH levels. Most enzymes are sensitive to pH and have specific ranges of activity. All have an optimum pH. Most enzymes function between a pH of 6 and 8.
When our catalase (beef liver) was added with different pH levels
oxygen bubbles in the form of foam was produced. The stronger the fizz and the more foam produced indicates that the catalase is functioning at a more efficient level.
Treatment 1, being distilled water had the highest reactions with oxygen bubbles measuring 73 mm. This results is typical as distilled water should have a pH level of 7. The optimum pH level.
In Treatment 2 , we used a solution with a pH level of 2. The result was a foam thickness that had a lot of fizz, but only moderate foam, measuring only 60mm.
Treatment 3, had a pH...