A.

Young AP Lab # 2

Introduction
An enzyme is a protein which can catalyze, or speed up, a reaction. A substrate,
also known as a reactant in the absence of an enzyme, temporarily binds to the active site
of an enzyme and changes into a new product. By doing this, the enzyme decreases the
activation energy and increases the rate of the reaction. To determine the rate of a
reaction, the change in the product should be divided by the change in time. The formula
looks like this: P2 minus P1 over T2 minus T1. P represents the product and T represents
the time.
In the enzyme catalysis lab, the enzyme used was catalase, which was found in
chicken liver. The substrate which the enzyme reacted with was H2O2 or commonly
known as hydrogen peroxide. Once the reaction had taken place, O2 (gaseous oxygen)
and H2O (water) was produced as the products. During the experiment, the process of the
enzyme producing O2 was observed. Although O2 cannot be seen, evidence showed that
oxygen was being produced due to the pressure building up in the test tube. The purpose
of the experiment was to determine if enzymes truly speed up a reaction. This was tested
by comparing the reactants without an enzyme added and the reactants with the enzyme
added.

Data
Data Table 1: Uncatalzyed Rate of H2O2 Decomposition
Reaction Time Initial Pressure Final Pressure Rate of Reaction
(kPa) (kPa) (kPa/s)

360 Seconds 102.8 kPa 102.9 kPa 0.00028 kPa/s

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A. Young AP Lab # 2

Data Table 2: Enzyme- Catalyzed Rate of H2O2 Decomposition

Reaction Time Pressure (kPa)
0 seconds 102.9 kPa

10 seconds 108.9 kPa

30 seconds 115.2 kPa

60 seconds 121.0 kPa

120 seconds 127.8 kPa

180 seconds 132.9 kPa

360 seconds 142.0 kPa

Data Table 3: Reaction Rates for Enzyme-Catalyzed Decomposition

0 to 10 10 to 30 30 to 60 60 to 120 120 to 180 180 to 360
0.6 kPa/s 0.32 kPa/s 0.19 kPa/s 0.11 kPa/s 0.09 kPa/s 0.05 kPa/s
Rates

Graph 1: Catalyzed and Uncatalyzed Decomposition Comparison

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A. Young AP Lab # 2

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Analysis and Conclusion

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A. Young AP Lab # 2

1. How did the reaction using boiled catalase compare to that using unboiled
catalase? Explain the reason for this difference.
When the boiled catalase was used in the H2O2, no reaction occur because the enzyme
had become denatured, meaning its active site lost its shape, due to the extreme heat.
When the unboiled catalase was added to the H2O2, it was obvious there was a reaction
occurring because bubbles were forming. In the unboiled catalase, the enzyme was able
to temporarily bind with the substrates and create products.
2. In exercise 2D, when is the reaction rate the highest? Explain why.
The reaction rate is highest closest to the initial time because the enzymes have many
substrates to bind with. The more substrates that are available to change, the higher the
reaction rate is going to be.
3. In Exercise 2D, when is the rate the lowest? For what reasons is the rate low?
The reaction rate is lowest towards the 360 second mark because the enzymes have
changed the substrates into products already and it is more difficult for the enzymes to
find the unchanged substrates to bind with.
4. What happens to the amount of substrate as time increases in an enzyme-
catalyzed reaction? Explain your answer.
As time increases, the amount of substrate decreases because the enzymes have changed
them into products. In this case, the H202 decreased and O2 and H2O were produced.
5. What happens to the amount of product as time increases in an enzyme-catalyzed
reaction? Explain your answer.
As time increases, the amount of product increases but then slowly levels off. It increases
because the enzymes have changed the substrates into products rapidly. It eventually
levels off due to the fact that the enzymes do not come in contact with the unchanged
substrates as frequently.
6. Calculate the rates of reaction for each time period below using the given data.
(a) 0-10 seconds
(b) 10-30 seconds
(c) 30-60 seconds
(d) 60-120 seconds
(e) 120-180 seconds
Time (s) 0 10 30 60 120 180
Product (g) 0 20 30 40 50 50

7. Describe what happens to the rate of reaction over time. Explain WHY this
happens.
Over time, the rate of reaction decreased in this experiment because as the enzymes
catalyzed the reaction of the change of H2O2 into H2O and O2, the amount of substrate
decreased. This resulted in the enzymes not coming into contact with unchanged
substrates; therefore, no products were being produced. This caused the rate to decrease
because when the product production decreases and the time increases, it causes a drop in
the reaction rate.

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