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Home › Bio 103, Lab 5: Ongoing change at larger scales: chemical reactions and "ferments"/enzymes ›

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Jen's picture

Enzymes reacted fastest at

Submitted by Jen on Wed, 10/10/2007 - 2:30pm.
Enzymes reacted fastest at the highest concentration, at the right temperature and at a neutral pH. We believe that the reasons the enzyme performed this way are for molecular reasons beyond our observation which we cannot explain, since we do not know the composition of the enzyme and the way it specifically works with the H2O2. We do not believe that the enzyme is alive because it does not appear to be an improbable assembly: it looks just like a glass of water, and if shaken up it would still appear as a clear, colorless liquid. It only reacts when mixed with something else and under certain conditions, so it does not seem to be semi autonomous or homeostatic.

The enzyme can only make use of up to a certain point of energy. After that point, the extra energy cannot be used and thus interferes with the reaction. This is observable on our graphs of temperature and pH, where the rate of reaction decreases after the graph peaks.

In future experiments, we would like to devise ways of determining how the enzyme reacts with chemicals to break them down and produce a reaction.

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