Name Kyle Zukowski

Subject Biology
Date 12/15/2016

What factors control enzymatic reactions and why?

Many factors controls enzymatic reactions. Some of those factors are temperature, pH levels,
enzyme concentration, substrate concentration. These factors affect the enzymatic reaction
because heat speeds up reactions, while cold slows them down. The amount changes the
reactions because the more of the enzyme concentration or substrate concentration you have,
then the faster the reaction will be.

Introduction

The Kinetic Theory of Matter and Brownian motion influence the reactants and product
formation because the molecules are moving around, which is brownian motion, and when
things are heated up, brownian motion is faster, which means that the molecules will move
faster. Even though that you would think that heating up a substance would increase the rate of
reactions, it actually doesnt produce anything because the molecules are moving too fast in
order for them to fit into the enzyme-substrate. The enzyme-substrate is also referred to as the
lock and key because it works like a lock and key. The enzyme-substrate is the lock because it
is what the enzyme goes into, or the key, which then unlocks and makes energy. The oxygen
collected in this lab is able to determine the rate of enzymatic reaction because the more
reactions there are, the more oxygen is being released, which is then pushing the water back
into the water basin. After a set about of time, you check the level of oxygen in the graduated
cylinder and that is how much oxygen was produced. Depending on this number, you can tell if
the enzymatic reaction was slow (less oxygen in graduated cylinder) or if it was fast (more
oxygen in graduated cylinder)

Problem Statement
Temperature:
What is the effect of the temperature on the O2 Production from the Peroxidase Enzyme
Solution?

pH:
What is the effect of the pH level on the O2 Production from the Peroxidase Enzyme Solution?
 Hypothesis
Temperature:
If the peroxidase enzyme found in the yeast is higher than the room temperature, then the rate
of enzymatic reaction will be faster.
pH:
If the pH level of the Hydrogen Peroxide is neutral, then no O2 will be produced because the
acidity and/or basicity will kill the yeast.

Independent Variable:

Temperature: Temperature of Peroxidase Enzyme Solution

pH: Basic and Acidic solutions of Peroxidase Enzyme Solution
Dependent Variable:
Rate of Enzymatic Reaction
Constant Variables:
3% Hydrogen Peroxide
pH of Acid Solution
pH of Basic Solution
Amount of Yeast
Amount of Hydrogen Peroxide
Amount of Acidic Solution
Amount of Acidic Solution
Temperature of water
Temperature of room

Materials:
Acid Solution (1pH)
Basic Solution (9 pH)
Thermometer
Yeast Solution
3% Hydrogen peroxide
Hot plate
Ice pack
pH testing paper
125 Erlenmeyer flask
10 + 100 mL graduated cylinder
Timer
Surgical Tubing
Ring Stand
Rubber Stopper
 pH Procedure:
1) Test the hydrogen peroxide, basic, and acidic solution to see their pH values
2) Add 7mL of yeast into the Erlenmeyer flask
3) Add either 15 drops of the solutions into the flask
4) Add 15 drops of the Hydrogen Peroxide into the flask
5) Cap the Erlenmeyer flask and stir the substances together
6) Observe the amount of O2 created for 2:15 seconds
7) After the test, record your results
8) Rinse the flask and repeat steps 2-6 for each of the solutions (Hydrogen peroxide, basic
solution, and acidic solution

Temperature Procedure:
1) Mix the yeast so that is is evenly distributed
2) Add 7mL of yeast into the beaker, then pour it into the Emenger flash
3) Add 15 drops of Hydrogen Peroxide into the yeast.
4) Cap the Erlenmeyer flask
5) Add the surgical tube into the beaker in the bin of water
6) Swirl the Yeast and Hydrogen Peroxide
7) Wait 2:15 seconds, then observe the amount of O2 produced.
8) Rinse the flask after every test
9) Reset the graduated cylinder so that there is no gas in it
10) Repeat steps 1-9 for the rest of the experiment
11) When you heat the yeast and hydrogen peroxide, you want to take the flask out at 84 C.
12) When you chill the yeast and hydrogen peroxide, you want to take the flask out at 5 C.

Data Tables for both Temperature and pH

 Temperature effects on O2 Production
Table 1

Temperature of Peroxidase Enzyme Rate of Enzymatic Reaction as determined

Solution by amounts of O2 gas produced (ml)

Cold (5C) 5mL

Control (23C) 1.5 mL

Heat (84C) 0 mL

pH effects on O2 Production
Table 2

Acidity/Basicity of Peroxidase Enzyme Rate of Enzymatic Reaction as determined

Solution by amounts of O2 gas produced (ml)

Acidic Solution (1 pH) 5mL

Control (6 pH) 0 mL

Basic Solution (9 pH) 3mL

Graphs for Both Temperature and pH

Summary/Results
 According to Table 1, it says that the colder the solution is, the more oxygen is produced. We
can see this because in the table, in 5C, the solution produced 5mL of oxygen, while at 84C,
the solution produced 0mL of oxygen. This says that the colder the solution, the more oxygen is
produced. According to Table 2, it says that the lower the pH is (More acidic), then more oxygen
will be produced. In the table, it shows that when the solution was at 6 pH, then it produced 0mL
of oxygen, while at 1pH, the solution produced 5mL of oxygen.

Conclusion
The expected results werent what we got. In the expected results, it says that the optimal
temperature for the most oxygen production is 40C, and the optimal pH level for the most
oxygen production is 8pH. This varied from our results because in our testing, the temperature
that produced the most oxygen was 5C, and the pH that produced the most oxygen was 1pH.
These results have many factors that could have affected them. The heat could have been too
hot and then the molecules were moving too fast to fit into the lock and key system of the
complex, so the cold was the best, even though that the molecules move slower.

Validity
We did get the expected results. One way that we could have improved the lab was to
raise/lower the temperature of the solution more, so that we could see a bigger difference.
Another way that we could have improved the experiment is that we could have had a
higher/lower pH level. If we had a higher/lower pH level, then we could have seen more/less
production of oxygen because the pH affects the rate of reaction.

Real-life application
Enzymes are important to everyday life, and we dont even know it. Enzymes are proteins that
control the speed of reactions in our body. For example, Enzymes help digest our food. Without
the enzymes, the food would just sit in our stomach and not get into our body. With the
enzymes, it helps to speed up the process of digestion so that the food doesnt just sit in our
stomach. Enzymes arent just found in our digestive system though, they are found all
throughout our body to help speed up chemical reactions.

http://www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/whoami/findoutmore/yourbody/whatdoyourcellsdo/wh
atisacellmadeof/whyareenzymesimportant

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK9921/