Experiment to investigate the effect of temperature on the protease enzyme Trypsin.

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CHRIS IRVINE

Experiment to investigate the effect of temperature on the protease enzyme Trypsin

Trypsin is an enzyme, enzymes exist in all living things. They are composed of polymers of amino acids and are produced in living cells. Each cell contains several hundred enzymes. Their job is to catalyse chemical reactions. In the digestive process, Trypsin breaks down protein molecules into amino acids. Enzymes are known as “biological catalysts” as they increase the rate at which reactions occur within living organisms, it is not possible for enzymes to die or become used up, however, they can be denatured which stops them from functioning correctly. They can be denatured or affected by temperature, pH and concentration of the enzyme, this is why homeostasis, the keeping of certain bodily functions including pH and temperature constant is so important. Temperature and pH can slow the rate of reaction down (at a high or low temperature or pH), stop it completely (at a very high or low temperature or pH) or speed it up (at an optimum temperature or pH). For concentration of the enzyme, the lower the concentration, the longer the time taken to react.

The factor that I am going to investigate is temperature, this is because it is simpler to conduct the experiment than pH or concentration.

PREDICTION

I predict that as the temperature increases, the speed of the reaction will increase (up to a certain point), my reason for this prediction is based on the collision theory, which states that the molecules will gain more energy when heated and move about faster therefore increasing the likelihood of a collision which in turn leads to a reaction. At the temperatures 25°C and 65°C I believe the rate of reaction will decrease due to the enzymes starting to become denatured (the lock and key theory), then at 15°C and 75°C no reaction will occur due to total denaturisation of all the Trypsin enzymes. Based on both theories I predict that the optimum temperature will be 45°C.

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APPARATUS 

I will make sure that I have all the equipment that I will need to conduct the experiment safely and fairly, these are goggles, a tripod, a gauze, a heat mat, a Bunsen burner, a heat proof beaker, 14 test tubes (minimum size 10 ml), matches, a thermometer, a stopwatch, tongs, ice cubes, a beaker of marvel milk, a beaker of Trypsin, a pen and paper, 2 syringes (minimum size 5ml), and finally a source of cool water.

PLAN

When about to conduct the experiment, my first step will be to make sure that the ...

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