Investigating Catalase Activity in Different Plant Tissues.

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Investigating Catalase Activity in Different Plant Tissues

By Dariush Mahboubian

Aim

In this experiment I am going to investigate the effect of pH on the activity of the enzyme catalase. I will be using plant extracts to obtain the catalase for my experiment. The plant material available is carrot, radish, potato and spring onion. In my preliminary experiment I will be looking at which of these materials will be best suited to my main experiment. In my main experiment I will be measuring the rate of reaction by finding out the time taken for a certain amount of product to be given off. The rate of reaction is basically the same as 1/time. I will do each experiment and repeat it 3 times to get an accurate average result.

Background Science

During respiration plants and animals make hydrogen peroxide. Hydrogen peroxide is poisonous and they need to get rid of it as soon as they produce it. They get rid of the hydrogen peroxide using the enzyme catalase. Enzymes are biological catalysts which speed up chemical reactions without being changed at the end of the reaction and without being used up. They are made from protein