Hypothesis: Increasing the surface area of the potato cylinders will increase the number of enzymes.

This essay hasn't yet been marked by one of our teachers

You can view 35 essays on Life Processes & Cells that have been Marked by Teachers

The first 200 words of this essay...

Hypothesis: Increasing the surface area of the potato cylinders will increase the number of enzymes. This means the rate of reaction will also increase due to the increase in active sites. This also means that doubling the surface area will also double the rate of reaction.

Theory

The breakdown of hydrogen peroxide by catalase is a catabolic reaction and results in the formation of water and oxygen. The following chemical equation represents this reaction.

2H2O2 2H2O + O2

Catalase is an enzyme, which can be found in potatoes. Enzymes are globular proteins, which are also known as biological catalyst. Enzymes are able to break down molecules because they have a special feature called an active site. This feature enables them to break down molecules with out being effected. This means that that at the end of the reaction there not used up.

This active site that enzymes posses has a unique shape which means only one type of substrate can bind to it. When the substrate attaches itself to the enzyme it is kept in place by the R groups of the enzyme. This attachment is known as an enzyme - substrate complex. This