PLEASE SEE THE DOCUMENT ATTACHED ON THE "METHOD AND RESULTS" PAGE FOR THE GRAPH
GRAPH ANALYSIS
By looking at the graph, we see that different temperatures were used but the same amount of potato and hydrogen peroxide was used. This indicates that the higher the temperature, the higher the height of bubbles, whereas when the temperature was above 40°C, the height of the bubbles decreased. Thus, the enzyme activity gradually increases with temperature up to around 40°C. Then, as the temperature continues to rise, the rate of reaction falls rapidly as heat energy denatures the enzyme. Therefore, this proves that enzyme catalase gets its optimum result at the normal body temperature.
LINK BETWEEN RESULTS AND HYPOTHESIS
I have proven that as stated in my hypothesis that the enzyme catalase will become more effective when the temperature gets higher, whereas when the temperature gets above 37°C, the enzyme catalase starts getting less effective because enzymes become denatured at high temperatures. Therefore, it is proven that at higher or lower temperatures, the activity of enzymes is lower and they get an optimum activity at the normal body temperature. Hence, my hypothesis is supported.
PROBLEMS ENCOUNTERED IN THE EXPERIMENT
There were some problems that I encountered during doing this experiment and some of them are:-
1) Data was collected over several days. Although the solution was preserved in a refrigerator, time still influences enzyme activity. Enzymes can sometimes become less effective as time passes so data collected during the later days may not be as accurate as the first day. Hence, data may be slightly inconsistent.
2) It was really hard to cut the potato into exactly the same size; probably could have tried boiling the potatoes before cutting it or mashing the potatoes and measuring it and taking the same amount.
IMPROVEMENTS TO BE MADE
1) All the data collection should have been experimented on the same day and even better if conducted in same environmental conditions. In this way, the experiment will be more consistent and controlled and accurate results will be obtained.
2) After the experiment, I should have repeated the experiment with temperature of 30-45°C (with the increment of 1 degree) to see the perfect optimum result of enzymes.
3) Instead of test tubes, I could have used measuring cylinders (which have measurements and thus correct height of froth would have been measured).
4) Should have repeated experiment with another source of catalase (starch or liver).
5) Instead of volume of potato, I would have used ‘how much weight of potato should be in each test tube'.
CONCLUSION
The purpose of my experiment was to find out how different temperatures will affect the chemical reaction of the enzyme Catalase in hydrogen peroxide. The results support my hypothesis and it was found that as the temperature gets higher, the enzyme catalase becomes more effective, whereas it will start getting less effective at temperatures above 37°C.
Besides playing an important role in the life of living organisms, the catalase enzyme also has some commercial uses. In the food industry, it is used to make the milk free from hydrogen peroxide so that the milk can be used to make cheese. In the textile industry, it is used to remove hydrogen peroxide from clothes. Catalysts are also important in many industrial chemical process also, including the production of fertilisers, plastics and petrol because they speed up the reactions and reduce the amount of energy needed for reactions to occur. This means energy savings to the manufacturer.
GRAPH ANALYSIS
By looking at the graph, we see that different temperatures were used but the same amount of potato and hydrogen peroxide was used. This indicates that the higher the temperature, the higher the height of bubbles, whereas when the temperature was above 40°C, the height of the bubbles decreased. Thus, the enzyme activity gradually increases with temperature up to around 40°C. Then, as the temperature continues to rise, the rate of reaction falls rapidly as heat energy denatures the enzyme. Therefore, this proves that enzyme catalase gets its optimum result at the normal body temperature.
LINK BETWEEN RESULTS AND HYPOTHESIS
I have proven that as stated in my hypothesis that the enzyme catalase will become more effective when the temperature gets higher, whereas when the temperature gets above 37°C, the enzyme catalase starts getting less effective because enzymes become denatured at high temperatures. Therefore, it is proven that at higher or lower temperatures, the activity of enzymes is lower and they get an optimum activity at the normal body temperature. Hence, my hypothesis is supported.
PROBLEMS ENCOUNTERED IN THE EXPERIMENT
There were some problems that I encountered during doing this experiment and some of them are:-
1) Data was collected over several days. Although the solution was preserved in a refrigerator, time still influences enzyme activity. Enzymes can sometimes become less effective as time passes so data collected during the later days may not be as accurate as the first day. Hence, data may be slightly inconsistent.
2) It was really hard to cut the potato into exactly the same size; probably could have tried boiling the potatoes before cutting it or mashing the potatoes and measuring it and taking the same amount.
IMPROVEMENTS TO BE MADE
1) All the data collection should have been experimented on the same day and even better if conducted in same environmental conditions. In this way, the experiment will be more consistent and controlled and accurate results will be obtained.
2) After the experiment, I should have repeated the experiment with temperature of 30-45°C (with the increment of 1 degree) to see the perfect optimum result of enzymes.
3) Instead of test tubes, I could have used measuring cylinders (which have measurements and thus correct height of froth would have been measured).
4) Should have repeated experiment with another source of catalase (starch or liver).
5) Instead of volume of potato, I would have used ‘how much weight of potato should be in each test tube'.
CONCLUSION
The purpose of my experiment was to find out how different temperatures will affect the chemical reaction of the enzyme Catalase in hydrogen peroxide. The results support my hypothesis and it was found that as the temperature gets higher, the enzyme catalase becomes more effective, whereas it will start getting less effective at temperatures above 37°C.
Besides playing an important role in the life of living organisms, the catalase enzyme also has some commercial uses. In the food industry, it is used to make the milk free from hydrogen peroxide so that the milk can be used to make cheese. In the textile industry, it is used to remove hydrogen peroxide from clothes. Catalysts are also important in many industrial chemical process also, including the production of fertilisers, plastics and petrol because they speed up the reactions and reduce the amount of energy needed for reactions to occur. This means energy savings to the manufacturer.