Investigation on Enzymes :: Papers

Investigation on Enzymes Introduction Sam and Sarah planned and carried out an experiment to see the effect of pH on the activity of the enzyme amylase which breaks down starch into sugar. They decided to investigate 5 different pH's 2,4,6,8 and 10. 1. The used a measuring cylinder to measure out 5cm3 of starch and placed it in a test tube. They then added acid or alkali until they got to pH2. They checked this using indicator paper 2. They placed the test tube in a rack on the bench and added 5cm3 of amylase which they had also measured using a measuring cylinder. 3. Immediately, they took out a drop of the mixture and placed it on a spotting tile which had 2 drops of Iodine in it. They repeated this every 30 seconds until they knew all of the starch had been broken down, so they stopped. 4. They then repeated the experiment at the different pHs'. 5. They did the experiment 3 times for each pH Aim Sam and Sarah planned to discover the effects of pH on the activity of the enzyme amylase which breaks down starch into sugar. Prediction I predict that the pH that the enzyme will work best at is 8 because amylase is mostly found in the mouth and salivary glands. This area is normally slightly alkaline, so the pH that this enzyme would most likely work best at would be 8. Table pH 2 4 6 8 10 1 2 3 1 2 3 1 2 3 1 2 3 1 2 3 Time (Min) 17 15 15 9 8.5 8.5 7 8 8 6 5.5 5 9