Investigating the affect of soaking on catalase activity in red kidney beans

Authors Avatar

Zaineb Sheikh (HPE)

Investigating the affect of soaking on catalase activity in red kidney beans.

Aim

To demonstrate that the kidney beans have catalase activity and that this activity is dependent on water.

Prediction

I think the catalase activity will increase and produce more oxygen the longer the kidney beans are soaked. There will come a point where water will not affect the rate of reaction. the oxygen produced will stay constant from this point on.

Fair test

In order to make this a fair test I have to make sure that all variables are controlled. The kidney beans must be of identical mass. The pH has to be controlled The same goes for hydrogen peroxide (substrate) concentration. This is because concentration of enzyme and substrate affects metabolic activity. The pH will be kept constant by using a pH 7 buffer. The temperature must also be kept constant for the same reason. The volume of water needed for soaking will also be kept the same. This will ensure fair soaking. Lastly, the timing will be constant. I will measure the volume of water produced for each experiment after 2 minutes. If these variables were not kept constant the results cannot be compared accurately. I will also repeat each experiment 3 times. This is so that any inaccuracies can be noticed.

Apparatus

Pan balance, 2cm cubed syringe, 10cm cubed syringe, 50cm cubed measuring cylinder, tub (for water bath), delivery tube, 15 test tubes, 3 test tube racks, clamp stand, spatula, thermometer, blender, filter paper, funnel, conical flask, 200ml beaker, 15ml beaker, weighing boat, stop watch, pH 7 buffer, red kidney beans (contains enzyme, catalase), hydrogen peroxide (substrate), and water.

Background Information

Join now!

Enzymes are biological catalysts. They carry out thousands of chemical reactions that occur in living cells. They are large proteins made up of amino acids.

In an enzyme catalysed reaction, the substrate (in this case H2O2) binds to the active site of the enzyme (catalase). The catalase and H2O2 is held together by hydrophilic and hydrophobic bonds, ionic bonds, disulphide bonds and hydrogen bonds. This is known as the enzyme substrate complex.

Each enzyme is specific for a certain reaction (lock and key mechanism) because its amino acid sequence is unique and causes it to have a unique 3D ...

This is a preview of the whole essay