How Changes in Temperature Affect the Enzymes Activity of Amylase - Paper Example

Aim: How changes in temperature affect the enzymes activity of amylase.

Hypothesis: At low temperatures, 00C, the activity of enzymes is slow. With increase in temperature, the reaction rate increases until the optimum temperature is reached. Beyond this temperatures, the enzymes reaction rate decreases until it ceases.

Enzymes refer to the proteins that function as catalysts in a chemicalreaction. Enzymes are very significant because they enhance the rate at which chemical reactions take place without being altered permanently or without being consumed in the process. Enzymes can be released from the bacterial, animal, yeast or fungi and also from the plant sources (Bender, 2002). The tertiary structure of any protein plays a crucial role in its function. Denaturing of enzymes come about when there is a deviation in the tertiary structure which leads to loss of function. This can be a result of high temperatures or high or low pH. Their function only takes place with the presence of a substrate. Enzymes have an active site which is the binding site for substrates. The substrate provides a surface area for the enzymes to function. The level of energy required by any chemical reaction is usually higher, but with the presence of enzymes, this energy required reduces. This is measured by the systems temperature. The enzyme that has been used during the experiment is the amylase. These are biomolecules representing the macromolecules in the form of the proteins.

Materials

The materials used during the experiment included;

The tubes and tube holders

Water baths

Spectrophometer

Pipettes including the mechanical pipettors (propipettes) and beakers

Spot plates

Biuret reagent

Solution of organic chemicals

Procedure

1. A sample containing 3 ml of starch and 1 ml of amylase was prepared.

2. Each component of the sample was then incubated. Here, the starch and enzymes were separately incubated at the conditions that were tested for five minutes before the actual mixing took place. The starch was then poured into the tube with amylase after undergoing incubation for five minutes.

3. The mixture was then subjected to incubation for 20 minutes

4. The control experiment was then prepared.

5. To stop the reaction, an addition of 1 ml acid ethanol was done to prevent the protein from being used up.

6. Three drops of IKI were added to each sample which included the controls and the mixed reaction.

7. The outcome was then measured through the use of spectrophotometer set at 670nm. The color development and its intensity served as the indicators molecule present.

Results

The analysis of the experiment involves the utilization of simple tools that was significant for determining the mean of multiple sets and also the determination of the deviation of the mean. The results are presented in the form of a table as follows.

Under the temperature of 0 degree Celsius, no reaction took place as indicated by 0% of the reaction rate. As the temperatures increased up to 37 degree Celsius, the rate of reaction also increased steadily. At the temperature beyond 70 degrees Celsius, no reaction took place as it was indicated by 0% reaction rate.

Table

Temperature (degrees Celsius) 1 2 3 4 5 6

0 0% 0% 39.9% 0% 0% 0%

21 59.8% 55.2% 0.0% 3% 63.2% 0.3%

37 76.3% 67% 70% 5.8% 71.8% 13.1%

70 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0%

100 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0%

Graph

Discussion

Enzymes are biological catalysts. The activity of an enzyme is maximum at the optimum temperature. The optimum temperature for the catalase in this experiment is 37 degree Celsius. The enzymes active site forms a keyhole which the substrates fit into like a key. The substrate molecule is broken up. As the temperature increases, the kinetic energy of the substrate molecules also increases hence the reaction rate. Beyond the optimum temperatures, the enzymes become denatured which is the alteration of the structure hence loss of biological properties. The number of enzymes active sites decrease progressively, and the catalytic activity is also lost thus slowing down the reaction. The optimum temperature is the balance between the increasing rate of enzyme activity and its decreasing rate as a result of denaturation. Thus, every enzyme has its optimum temperatures.

Conclusion.

The rate of the reaction catalyzed by an enzyme is affected by changes in the temperature. At temperatures as low as 0 degree Celsius, the rate of reaction taking place is very minimal. As the temperature is increased, the rate of enzymatic reaction also increases until the optimum temperature is attained. With the increase in temperature beyond the optimum levels, the rate of reaction begins to decrease due to denaturation.

References

Bender, D. A. (2002). Introduction to nutrition and metabolism. London: Taylor & Francis.

Cornish-Bowden, A. (2014). Fundamentals of enzyme kinetics. Weinheim, Germany: Wiley-Blackwell.