Name: Devina A P - 22010116120064

Exercise 8: Chemical and Physical Processes of Digestion: Activity 2: Exploring Amylase Substrate Specificity Lab Report

Pre-lab Quiz Results

You scored 100% by answering 5 out of 5 questions correctly.

1. Which of the following is true of enzymes and substrates?

You correctly answered: c. Enzymes are specific about the substrates they can act upon.

2. Which of the following is/are reducing sugars?

You correctly answered: e. both glucose and maltose

3. Cellulose and starch are both

You correctly answered: e. polymers of glucose and polysaccharides.

4. Proteins and peptides are formed by joining amino acids with a special type of covalent bond called a peptide bond.
Which of the following enzymes do you think would be specific for a peptide bond?
You correctly answered: c. peptidase

5. The Benedict's assay tests for the presence of

You correctly answered: c. reducing sugar.

05/30/17 page 1
Experiment Results
Predict Question:
Predict Question: Do you think test tube 3 will show a positive Benedict's test?
Your answer : b. no

Stop & Think Questions:

You included tube 2 to
You correctly answered: b. see what a positive Benedict's test should look like.

Which tube is included to detect contaminating amylase in the buffer or in cellulose?

You correctly answered: d. tube 4

What is the usual substrate for the pancreatic enzyme peptidase?

You correctly answered: d. peptides

Experiment Data:

Tube No. Reagent 1 Reagent 2 Reagent 3 Time Temp. IKI Benedict's

1 Amylase Starch pH 7.0 Buffer 60 37 - ++
2 Amylase Glucose pH 7.0 Buffer 60 37 - ++
3 Amylase Cellulose pH 7.0 Buffer 60 37 + -
4 Cellulose pH 7.0 Buffer Deionized Water 60 37 + -
5 Peptidase Starch pH 7.0 Buffer 60 37 + -
6 Bacteria Cellulose pH 7.0 Buffer 60 37 - ++

05/30/17 page 2
Post-lab Quiz Results
You scored 100% by answering 4 out of 4 questions correctly.

1. The substrate(s) for amylase is/are

You correctly answered: a. starch.

2. The results of tube 5 demonstrated that

You correctly answered: b. peptidase does not digest starch.

3. Why was the cellulose in tube 6 hydrolyzed to glucose?

You correctly answered: d. The bacterial suspension contained the enzyme cellulase, which digested the cellulose.

4. Can you detect the presence of contaminating amylase from your experiments?
You correctly answered: c. It is not possible to determine whether contaminating amylase is present because amylase
doesn't digest cellulose.

05/30/17 page 3
Review Sheet Results
1. Describe why the results in tube 1 and tube 2 are the same.
Your answer:
In tube 1, the amylase is hydrolyzing the starch to glucose and in tube 2 the glucose is already present in hydrolyzed form.

2. Describe the result in tube 3. How well did the results compare with your prediction?
Your answer:
Amylase cannot digest cellulose so tube 3 is not positive positive for Benedict's test

3. Describe the usual substrate for peptidase.

Your answer:
A protein (BAPNA in this experiment)

4. Explain how bacteria can aid in digestion.

Your answer:
Bacteria can aid in digestion by breaking down cellulose with enzyme cellulase, humans do not produce this enzyme.

05/30/17 page 4