Introduction
Enzymes are an important biological catalyst that is absolutely crucial for life to exist. The ultimate purpose of this experiment was to examine enzymes and how they function in cells, explore the result that concentrations and environmental factors have over these functions, and lastly to read and interpret graphs related to enzyme function. This type of study had various parts, therefore there are various hypotheses. The first being, if it is potato extract, then it will contain catechol oxidase. The null being, if it is potato extract, then it will not contain catechol oxidase. The second hypothesis, if it is PTU, then it is a noncompetitive inhibitor can be nullified by the statement, if it is PTU, then it is not a noncompetitive …show more content…
The first stating that if pH increases, then amylase activity will increase. The null of this being if pH increases, then amylase activity will not increase. The final hypothesis is as follows: If temperature increases, then amylase activity will increase. The null of this being if temperature increases, then amylase activity will not increase. To begin with, an thorough background knowledge and understanding of enzymes is imperative. The first part of this experiment deals primarily with PTU and catechol oxidase. Enzymes work by using substrates (reactor molecules) to increase the chances of a reaction taking place. Enzymes are not used or changed during a reaction, they simply bind with the substrate at the active site. This creates the place where catalysis actually occurs, called the enzyme-substrate complex (Freeman). Catechol Oxidase is the enzyme extracted from potatos. It is the enzyme responsible for the browning of fruit (Klabunde). PTU, phenylthiourea, is the inhibitor for catechol oxidase. This experiment explores the inhibitor and whether it is a competitive or noncompetitive inhibitor. A competitive inhibitor is self-explanatory. It hold a shape and form similar to the enzyme, allowing it to compete for access to …show more content…
The second part of this experiment works primarily with starch, a common glucose polymer found in a large variety of foods. Starch is linked by the glucosidic bonds known as alpha-1,4 and alpha- 1,6 (Wang). These linkages and the angles between the carbons allow for Starch to coil into a helix. Starch is primarily used as an energy storing compound in plants. It has two primary forms: amylose and amylopectin. Amylose has primarily a structure of unbranched helices. It is made up of only alpha-1,4 glycosidic linkages (Freeman). Amylose is a polymer with 500 to 2000 of the glucose subunits (Wang). The other form, amylopectin is branched and does contain the alpha-1,6 linkages. The branches of amylopectin occur in one of every thirty monomers (Freeman). Starch is an important component of plant foods, as its carbon and energy can be converted into use in the human digestive system. This is done using the enzyme amylase, which is found in the saliva, called ptyalin (Vance). Amylase works by breaking down the starch polymers into smaller, easier sugars, and then into individual glucose units (Wang). Previous studies and experiments have shown that environmental factors such a temperature, pH and concentrations have had a large impact on the
Enzymes are an important biological catalyst that is absolutely crucial for life to exist. The ultimate purpose of this experiment was to examine enzymes and how they function in cells, explore the result that concentrations and environmental factors have over these functions, and lastly to read and interpret graphs related to enzyme function. This type of study had various parts, therefore there are various hypotheses. The first being, if it is potato extract, then it will contain catechol oxidase. The null being, if it is potato extract, then it will not contain catechol oxidase. The second hypothesis, if it is PTU, then it is a noncompetitive inhibitor can be nullified by the statement, if it is PTU, then it is not a noncompetitive …show more content…
The first stating that if pH increases, then amylase activity will increase. The null of this being if pH increases, then amylase activity will not increase. The final hypothesis is as follows: If temperature increases, then amylase activity will increase. The null of this being if temperature increases, then amylase activity will not increase. To begin with, an thorough background knowledge and understanding of enzymes is imperative. The first part of this experiment deals primarily with PTU and catechol oxidase. Enzymes work by using substrates (reactor molecules) to increase the chances of a reaction taking place. Enzymes are not used or changed during a reaction, they simply bind with the substrate at the active site. This creates the place where catalysis actually occurs, called the enzyme-substrate complex (Freeman). Catechol Oxidase is the enzyme extracted from potatos. It is the enzyme responsible for the browning of fruit (Klabunde). PTU, phenylthiourea, is the inhibitor for catechol oxidase. This experiment explores the inhibitor and whether it is a competitive or noncompetitive inhibitor. A competitive inhibitor is self-explanatory. It hold a shape and form similar to the enzyme, allowing it to compete for access to …show more content…
The second part of this experiment works primarily with starch, a common glucose polymer found in a large variety of foods. Starch is linked by the glucosidic bonds known as alpha-1,4 and alpha- 1,6 (Wang). These linkages and the angles between the carbons allow for Starch to coil into a helix. Starch is primarily used as an energy storing compound in plants. It has two primary forms: amylose and amylopectin. Amylose has primarily a structure of unbranched helices. It is made up of only alpha-1,4 glycosidic linkages (Freeman). Amylose is a polymer with 500 to 2000 of the glucose subunits (Wang). The other form, amylopectin is branched and does contain the alpha-1,6 linkages. The branches of amylopectin occur in one of every thirty monomers (Freeman). Starch is an important component of plant foods, as its carbon and energy can be converted into use in the human digestive system. This is done using the enzyme amylase, which is found in the saliva, called ptyalin (Vance). Amylase works by breaking down the starch polymers into smaller, easier sugars, and then into individual glucose units (Wang). Previous studies and experiments have shown that environmental factors such a temperature, pH and concentrations have had a large impact on the