Enzymes are very valuable to the metabolic process. Enzymes are protein catalyst that lowers activation energy and speed up chemical reactions. Knowing what conditions affect enzymes will help further knowledge in what enzymes are and how they work. Catecholase was used in both experiments. The absorbance rate of each test tube was measured at 420 nm. The first experiment showed how pH affects enzyme reaction rate. This experiment found that the optimal pH for catecholase is pH 10. However, catechol functions best at pH 6. The second experiment showed how enzyme concentration affects enzyme activity. Enzyme reaction rates increase as the concentration of enzyme is increased.
Enzymes are proteins that act as a catalysts and are a product of cellular activity (Horowitz 1918). The hydrolysis of sucrose to glucose and fructose is exergonic, but a dissolved solution of sucrose in water will sit for years at room temperature and show no noticeable signs of hydrolysis. Activation energy is the amount of energy needed to start a reaction. In most cases, activation energy is high. Enzymes are biological molecules that speed the reaction rates in cells and lowers activation energy (Reece and Campbell, 2014). Enzymes are needed for both plant and animal life. There would be no life without enzymes (Wolfenden & Snider, 2001). The rate of an enzyme reaction is
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The purpose of the second experiment is to prove the hypothesis-enzyme concentration affects enzyme activity; or the null hypothesis-enzyme concentration does not affect enzyme activity. The experiments use the enzyme catecholase. Catecholase is responsible for benzoquinone, the backbone for melanin which is what causes bruised fruits and vegetables to turn black (McRae et al.,