Name: ____________________________________ Block: ________ Date: __________________

Collision Theory/Enzyme Gizmo (adapted from http://www.explorelearning.com)

Warm-up Questions (Do these BEFORE using the Gizmo.)

1. Define the following terms (in your own words):

Product __________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________

Reactant _________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________

Catalyst __________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________

Enzyme __________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

2. Suppose you added a spoonful of sugar to hot water and another to ice-cold water. Which type of
water will cause the sugar to dissolve more quickly?_____________________________________

Gizmo Warm-up
A chemical reaction causes the chemical compositions of substances
to change. Reactants are substances that enter into a reaction, and
products are substances produced by the reaction. The Collision
Theory Gizmo™ allows you to experiment with several factors that
affect the rate at which reactants are transformed into products in
a chemical reaction.

You will need blue, green, and orange markers or colored pencils for
the first part of this activity.

1. Look at the key at the bottom of the SIMULATION pane. In the space below, draw the two
reactants and two products of this chemical reaction (using the same colors that are used in the
simulation).

Reactants: Products:

2. Click Play ( ). Watch for about 30 seconds and then describe what you observed.

_________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________

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Part A: How does temperature affect the rate of a chemical reaction?
• Click Reset ( ).
• Check that the Reactant concentration is set to 1.0 mol/L, the Catalyst concentration is set to
0.00 mol/L, and the Surface area is Minimum.

1. Select the ANIMATION tab. View the animation with No catalyst selected.
What do you see? __________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________

When two reactant molecules meet, they form a temporary structure called an activated complex.
The activated complex breaks up into the product molecules.

2. Return to the CONTROLS tab. Set the Temperature to 0 °C and the Simulation speed to its
maximum setting. Click Play.
A. Describe the motions of the molecules.
________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________

B. Now set the Temperature to 200 °C. How does increasing the temperature affect the
motions of the molecules?

________________________________________________________

C. What do you notice about the chemical reaction at the higher temperature?
_____________

______________________________________________________________________

3. Select the GRAPH tab. Click the zoom out button ( ) until you can see the whole graph. What
does this graph show? Explain in detail.

_________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________

4. How do you think temperature will affect the rate of a chemical reaction?
___________________

___________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________

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Gather data: Click Reset. A useful way to compare reaction rates is to record the time required for half
of the reactants to react, called the “half life” of the reaction. With the Temperature set to 200 °C,
click Play. Click Pause ( ) when the number of reactant molecules is 10. Repeat the experiment at
150 °C, 100 °C, and 50 °C. Record the half-life time in the first space of the table below. (Note:
To get exact times, you can refer to the TABLE tab.)

200 °C 150 °C 100 °C 50 °C

Half-life Time
5. Analyze: What do your results indicate about the effect of temperature on half-life time?
__________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________

Part B: How do catalysts affect the rate of a chemical reaction?

A catalyst is a substance that helps a chemical reaction to proceed more quickly. The catalyst molecules
are not changed by the reaction and can be reused over and over again.

1. Select the ANIMATION tab. Select With catalyst, and observe.

A. What do you see?
________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________

B. Why do you think the shape of a catalyst is important?

_____________________________

______________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________

Many catalysts have a special shape that allows them to bind to specific reactant molecules.

2. How do you think catalysts will affect the rate of a chemical reaction?
______________________

___________________________________________________________________________

3. On the CONTROLS pane, set the Reactant concentration to 2.0 mol/L, the Surface area to
Maximum, and the Temperature to 50 °C. Measure the half life time for each given catalyst
concentration. Click Pause ( ) when the number of reactant molecules is 20.
Reaction Half life at each Catalyst concentration
Trial
0.00 mol/L 0.05 mol/L 0.10 mol/L 0.15 mol/L
1

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4. What do your results indicate about the effects of catalysts on reaction time?
___________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________

5. Select RESET. Set the Catalyst concentration to 0.00 mol/L and the Temperature to 0 °C. Click
Play, wait for 10 minutes of simulated time, and click Pause.

A. What happens? ______________________________________________________

B. Click Reset, set the Catalyst concentration to 0.25 mol/L, and click Play. After 10
simulated minutes, click Pause. Record the number of reactants ________ & products

__________

Explain what happened.____________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________

C. Why do you think the catalysts allowed the chemical reaction to take place at 0 °C?

___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________

6. What is the usefulness of catalysts? _____________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________

7. Most of the chemical reactions inside your body rely on protein catalysts called enzymes to take
place. For example, the enzyme pepsin helps to break down protein molecules in your stomach. What
might happen if your stomach stopped producing pepsin?
_________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________

8. The rate of enzyme activity is affected by certain factors. List two of these factors and explain
how they affect the rate of enzymatic activity.

___________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________

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 ___________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________

Enzyme-Controlled Reactions Virtual Lab

Go to the following website http://tinyurl.com/32f3as4 Chapter 6: Chemistry in Biology Virtual Labs
- Click Enzyme-Controlled Reactions

In this investigation you will determine the effect of substrate concentration and pH on the initial rate
of an enzyme catalyzed reaction.
You will explore the following question: What are ideal conditions for optimal enzyme activity?

1. Read the information in the text box to the left of the simulation.
2. Read and follow the procedures for the lab simulation. Don’t forget to click the TV first!
3. You can adjust pH by clicking the up and down arrows under each test tube in the virtual lab. You will test
enzyme activity at pH 3, 5, 7, 9, and 11
4. Change the pH so that all the test tubes have a pH of 3. Now add the substrate to each tube. Record your
results in the data table.
5. Repeat step 4, changing the pH each time (pH 5, 7, 9, and 11).

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 Data Table 1: Initial Enzyme Reaction Rates
Initial Reaction Rate Average of
Substrate (# Molecules x 106/min) Molecules
Amount (per substrate
pH 3 pH 5 pH 7 pH 9 pH 11
amount)
0.5 g
1.0 g
2.0 g
4.0 g
8.0 g
Average of
Molecules
(per pH level)

Create two line graphs using the averages from the above chart.

Title: _______________________________________________________________
Average # of Molecules formed

Amount of Substrate (g) pH level

Analysis Questions
1. Which amount of substrate produced the most molecules? ____________________________________

2. Which amount of substrate produced the least amount of molecules? ____________________________

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3. Which amount of substrate resulted in amounts of product that were the same? ____________________

4. Which pH level was the most ideal to turn the substrate into molecules? __________________________

5. What was the temperature for each trial? ________________________________________________

6. Do you think your results would have been different if you increased the temperature? Explain.
________________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________________

7. Do you think your results would have been different if you decreased the temperature? Explain.
________________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________________

8. At what place does the substrate bind to the enzyme in order for the enzyme to work? (Hint: Play the
movie by clicking on the TV for this info). _____________________________________________

9. After analyzing your data, what conclusion can you come to about the substrate amount and enzyme
activity? _________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________________

10. After analyzing your data, what conclusion can you come to about the pH and enzyme activity?
________________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________________

11. Do all enzymes function best at the same pH? Explain. _______________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________

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