Find out how different temperatures affect how quick the enzyme amylase digests starch.

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An investigation to find out how different temperatures affect how quick the enzyme amylase digests starch.

Before carrying out any kind of investigation I am going to find out the facts in order to recreate the right conditions.

Scientific Information

Starch is a large molecule that is insoluble in water so cannot pass through into the blood, therefore to be of any use to the body it must be broken up into smaller molecules. Enzymes are used to carry out this process. Enzymes are biological catalysts that speed up the reactions going on inside living organisms, there are many different enzymes each enzyme is specific to one kind of molecule and will only catalyse that reaction. The enzyme that we are going to use to break up the starch is amylase.

Chemicals changed by enzyme-catalysed reactions are called the substrates of that enzyme, and they fit into the active site of the enzyme, where the reaction takes place, described in the lock-and-key theory. The products of the reaction then leave the active site, freeing it up for more similar reactions to take place.

Kinetic theory is the idea that, when a substance is heated, its molecules, having been supplied with energy, move around faster. In this experiment, as the temperature increases, the enzyme and starch molecules collide more frequently, and with more energy, which will cause them to react more efficiently. At low temperatures, the molecules will not collide very frequently and the starch will not be broken down as quickly.

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As amylase is created in the mouth it normally works at body temperature, 37 degrees C. Also because the enzyme is created in the mouth it works normally at the pH of the mouth, which is neutral (7).

Before I can carry out the investigation there is still one more thing that must be carried out. The Preliminary Investigation


Preliminary Investigation

The reason I must carry out a preliminary investigation is to:

  • Help understand what we have to do in the full investigation
  • And how to do it.

As the variable I ...

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