THE EFFECT OF pH ON ENZYME

ACTIVITYBy: Ivan Mosley

Does pH affect enzyme function?

✦ Yes, every enzyme in your body is affected by pH.

✦ Each enzyme works best at a certain pH level.

The ExperimentIn the experiment, three, one gram, slices of the same potato were put into three separate test tubes. 9ml of an acid was poured in one, 9ml of a base in the other, and 9ml of a neutral, into the control test tube. Hydrogen peroxide (H202) was then poured into each test tube. The enzyme activity is represented by the amount of bubbles produced. Bubble production means that the catalase in the potato is breaking down the substrate (H202) into products (Oxygen and water.)

ACID BASENEUTRAL

Results

✦ The catalase in the slice of potato that was submerged in the base did not break down the substrate into products.

✦ Compared to the neutral, the catalase in the slice of potato that was submerged in the acid rapidly broke down the substrate into products.

ConclusionIn conclusion, pH does affect enzyme productivity. In the experiment, it was obvious that the catalase in the potato that was submerged in the base did not produce any bubbles, which means that the H202 was not broken down into H20 and O2. Some problems in the experiment were, the neutral was slightly colder that the acid and the base, and we could not measure the bubble hight because they all popped as soon as they reached the surface of their liquid.

Video