Effect of Temperature on Enzyme Activity

Ty Hawkes B5

QUESTION: At what temperature does liver puree have the most activity?
BACKGROUND INFO: Enzymes react with only certain substances and work best at certain temperatures. The reason that liver puree breaks down H2O2 is because it is
harmful to the body so it breaks it down to water and oxygen which is healthy for the body.
HYPOTHESIS: I think that if we test enzyme activity at different temperatures, the chicken liver measured at 37 degrees Celsius will work the best. I believe this because I think
that enzymes have evolved to function the best in their environment and the average temperature found in the human body is 37 degrees Celsius.
MATERIALS:
1.
5 clean test tubes
2.
Pitcher of ice water
3.
Pitcher of boiling water
4.
Thermometer
5.
4 ml of liver puree
6.
12 ml of H2O2
7.
1 ml of Distilled water
PROCEDURE:
1.
Label each of the test tubes (1-5)
2.
Fill each of the test tubes with 1 ml of liver puree
3.
Place test tube #1 into the ice water (2 degrees Celsius)
4.
Place test tube #2 into a place that is room temperature (25 degrees Celsius)
5.
Place test tube #3 into the boiling water until the liver puree reaches 37 degrees Celsius
6.
Place test tube #4 in the boiling water (100 degrees Celsius)
7.
Place 3 ml of H2O2 into test tubes 1-4 when the appropriate temperature
8.
Place 3 ml of distilled water into test tube #5
9.
Record how vigorous the bubbling is from 0-5 (0- nothing happened, 5 extremely vigorous)
CONTROL: The control of the experiment is distilled water because it has no H2O2 in it.
DATA:

Reaction Rate

H2O2 (2 Degrees
Celsius)

H2O2 (25 degrees

Celsius)

H2O2 (37 Degrees Celsius)

H2O2 (100 degrees

Celsius)

Distilled water
(Control)

Reaction Rate
6
5
4
3
2
1
0

Bubbling Activity (1-5)

What Was Added And The Liver Puree Temperature

Reaction Rate

CONCLUSION: I wanted to know at what temperature liver puree enzymes works the best. The purpose of this lab is to determine the best temperature for enzymes to function
at was by changing the temperature of the liver puree and recording how vigorous the bubbling was. My results showed that the 37 degrees Celsius liver puree worked the best
which means that the results confirmed my hypothesis as correct. If I was to do this experiment again, I would've used a stove that could heat to a certain temperature instead of
benchmarks like boiling water or room temperature to get a more accurate set of data.