Enzyme concentration and activity

Authors Avatar

Although I planned an experiment using egg, we carried out an experiment using milk powder solution. The prediction applies for both experiments.

Enzyme Concentration and Activity

In this experiment, I will investigate the effect of enzyme concentration on the rate of the reaction where protein is broken down by protease enzymes.

If the enzyme concentration is raised, I predict that the rate of reaction will increase. This is due to more enzyme molecules being present, so a greater chance of collision with the protein chains. Therefore there will be more collisions in a given time, so the protein will be broken down more quickly. However, at a certain point, this correlation with level off due to other limiting factors.

The independent variable is the concentration of protease solution. The dependant variable is the time taken for the whole sample of cooked egg white to turn clear.

Here is a table of the variables I will keep controlled.

Join now!

Equipment

Method

  1. Pour the egg white to a depth of 0.5cm in a Petri dish and microwave on full power for 2 minutes (or until cooked).
  2. Cut the egg white into 2cm x 2cm squares and place each in a clean Petri dish. Allow to cool to room temperature (as the temperature of the freshly cooked egg could denature the enzyme).
  3. Use the distilled water to make the protease solution up to concentrations of 0.1%, 0.2%, 0.3%, 0.4% and 0.5%.
  4. Pour each concentration into a labelled beaker.
  5. Using a dropping ...

This is a preview of the whole essay