Virtual

Lab: Enzyme-Controlled Reactions

1. Open the Virtual Lab: Enzyme Controlled Reactions
http://glencoe.mheducation.com/sites/dl/free/0078759864/383930/BL_11.html
2. Click the TV in the lab simulation to watch a video about enzyme action.
3. Click the Information bar at the bottom of the lab simulation and read it!
4. Complete the following guided mini lab report. (This will help to ensure that your own homeostasis
lab report will be formatted properly!):

Background Information:

All (or most) reactions that happen in cells depend on enzymes. Enzymes are made up of proteins.
They act as catalysts for reactions. This means that they speed up reactions, but they are not used
up in the process. They can be used again and again. If there were no enzymes in the human body,
most metabolic reactions would occur at a rate too slow to support life. Another important use of
enzymes is that it allows reactions to be controlled so that just the right amount of product is made
not too much or too little.

Enzymes are used for many biological reactions. Amylase is an enzyme found in saliva that starts to
break down starch into glucose, while glucose oxidase is an enzyme that helps cells to break down
sugar. Glycogen synthase helps to convert glucose to glycogen. Fatty acid syntheses allow fatty acids
to be created in the cytoplasm from a molecule that results from the breakdown of glucose. These
fatty acids can then be used as the building blocks of more complex lipids. These are just a few
examples of how enzymes enable reactions within cells.


Question: How do substrate concentration and pH affect enzyme-controlled reactions?

Hypothesis:
If the pH is the highest and the substrate concentration is highest, the rate of molecules of product
created per minute would reach its maximum.

Variables:

For pH 5, what is the independent variable? The dependent variable? controlled variable(s)?

For pH 5, the independent variable is the amount of substrates (concentration of substrate). The
dependent variable is the number of molecules of product created per minute. The controlled variable
is the amount of the liquid, the pH level, and the temperature of the liquid.

For 2.0g of substrate, what is the independent variable? The dependent variable? Controlled
variable(s)?

For 2.0g of substrate, the independent variable is the pH levels. The dependent variable is the number
of molecules of product created per minute. The controlled variable is the amount of the liquid,
amount of the substrate (concentration of substrate), and the temperature of the liquid.

Procedure:

Include a brief description of your method. All significant details should be included, such that another
scientist could repeat your experiment.

1. Get the virtual laboratory open: http://glencoe.mheducation.com/sites/dl/free/
0078759864/383930/BL_11.html


2. Choose the factor (substrates or pH) you would change 5 times; for an example, I chose substrates
and did 5 different pH levels for one amount of substrate (so I changed my substrate amount, but
the pH levels were all tested at the same time, so there was no difference).

3. Choose one factor that you want to test (e.g. 0.5 g of substrates) and perform 5 different tests,
keeping that one factor as a constant (e.g. 5 different pH levels).

4. Record the results into a table on the virtual lab, and then clear your test.

5. Repeat steps 3 to 4 until you have all 25 spaces on the table filled.

Data:

Table 1: Number of product molecules formed per minute obtained from the virtual lab.

# Product Molecules (106)/minute at:
Amount of
pH 3
pH 5
pH 7
pH 9
pH 11
Substrate
(Lactose)
0.5 g
19
39
72
45
24

1.0 g

2.0 g

39

81

145

91

49

82

168

300

189

103

4.0 g

8.0 g

96

198

350

223

121

96

198

350

223

121


Create one or more graph(s) illustrate the trends seen between amount of substrate / pH and the initial rate of
reaction.
Graph 1&2: The Production Rate of Product Molecules in Relation to the Amount of Substrates/pH levels

Number of Product Molecules produced (106)/minute

Amount of Product Molecules in Rela^on to

the Amount of Substrates
400
350
300
250

pH 3

200

pH 5
pH 7

150

pH 9

100

pH 11

50
0
0.5 g

1.0 g

2.0 g

4.0 g

8.0 g

Amount of Substrates (Lactose) (g)

*For the graph below, the purple (substrate amount 4.0 g is not visible because it had the same values as 8.0
substrates

Number of Product Molecules produced (106)/minute

Amount of Product Molecules in Rela^on to

the pH levels
400
350
300
250

0.5 g

200

1.0 g
2.0 g

150

4.0 g

100

8.0 g

50
0
pH 3

pH 5

pH 7

pH 9

pH 11

pH Levels


Analysis Questions:

1. Describe the relationship between substrate concentration and the initial reaction rate of an enzyme-
catalyzed reaction. Is this a linear relationship? What happens to the initial reaction rate as substrate
concentration increases?

The substrate concentration and the initial reaction rate of the enzyme-catalyzed reaction have
somewhat a linear relationship, because as the substrate concentration increases, the reaction rate
also increases. However, as the amount of substrates increases to a larger number, the reaction rate
stays the same, starting from amounts larger than 4.0 g.

2. What is the maximum initial reaction rate for this enzyme at pH 7?

The maximum initial reaction rate for this enzyme at pH 7 is 350 product molecules per minute.

3. Explain why the maximum initial reaction rate cannot be reached at low substrate concentrations.

The maximum initial reaction rate cannot be reached at low substrate concentrations because even
before the enzymes start to produce products quickly, the substrates would all already have been
depleted and there will be nothing for the enzyme to convert to products. In order for the initial
reaction rate to reach the maximum rate, there should be at least 4.0 g of substrates in this
experiment.

4. What does your data indicate about the optimum pH level for this enzyme-catalyzed reaction?

The data indicates that the pH 7, which is close to distilled water, would be the optimum pH level for
this enzyme-catalyzed reaction.

5. Enzymes function most efficiently at the temperature of a typical cell, which is 37 degrees Celsius.
Increases or decreases in temperature can significantly lower the reaction rate. What does this suggest
about the importance of temperature-regulating mechanisms in organisms? Explain.

Because enzymes function most efficiently at a certain temperature, it is important for organisms to
keep that certain temperature. Our body functions by chemical reactions, that creates the materials
that we need. If the temperature changes even by a single degree, the reaction rate, thus the
production rate of molecules would be significantly lower. This disturbs our body, because the body
would get lesser products in a longer period of time. To prevent this, organisms have to have
temperature-regulating mechanisms in order to make sure the enzymes function most efficiently, so
that organisms can gain nutrients and materials quickly with maximum amount.

Conclusion:

Summarizes data used to draw conclusions.

Conclusions follow data (no wild guesses or leaps of logic).
Hypothesis is rejected or accepted based on the data.
Discusses possible experimental errors.
Discusses applications or real world connections.

Looking at the data of this experiment, one can conclude that pH level 7 and 4.0 g of substrates is the
most efficient, that is, has the maximum rate of production of products. From graph one, the data
shows that the 4.0 g and 8.0 g of substrates would give the maximum production rate, except that 4.0
g would be more efficient compared to the 8.0 g of substrates since they produce the same amount of
products. From graph two, because the pH 7 has the highest production rates, it can be concluded that
the pH 7 is the most optimum level that would enable the production rate to reach maximum levels. In
conclusion, the 4.0 g of substrates and pH level 7 would make the production rate to reach its
maximum. The hypothesis prior to this experiment is rejected, because the prediction was that the
highest pH level and substrate amount would have the maximum production rate; in reality, the 4.0 g
(2nd largest) and pH level 7 (3rd largest) had the greatest Product production rate. Because this is a
virtual experiment, there should not be any errors, because it was designed to yield a certain result.
This test could be used to determine the most efficient amount of food we need to consume, since
there is no need for overconsumption (of substrates) in order to get the maximum production rate of
chemicals.